Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $22.77 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,493 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,768,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,016,000 after acquiring an additional 323,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $656,274,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $11.90 on Tuesday, hitting $768.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,223,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,028,041. The stock has a market capitalization of $340.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.25, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $730.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $674.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.