State of Michigan Retirement System Has $115.73 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,969 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,400 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.6% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $115,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 247.3% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,167 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,053,000 after acquiring an additional 2,967 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,060 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% during the first quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,486 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,554,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 421 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 18,427 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,500,000 after acquiring an additional 3,076 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $859.36 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $524.63 and a 52 week high of $873.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $804.55 and its 200 day moving average is $742.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.24, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $758.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.