Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Chapman Investment Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Chapman Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,472 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 8.3% of Chapman Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Chapman Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after acquiring an additional 323,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,274,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of COST traded up $7.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $729.18. 1,524,431 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $730.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $666.04. The company has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

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.