Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 602,948 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 163,855 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.5% of AQR Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $596,460,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,141,062,000 after purchasing an additional 90,107 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,124,263,000 after purchasing an additional 150,844 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,692,035,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $998.70.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $884.47 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $392.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $916.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $951.10. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.12 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

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.