Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Has $50.27 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 59,142 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,094 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.5% of Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $50,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $886.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $871.45 and a 200-day moving average of $818.37. 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 cap of $393.03 billion, a PE ratio of 54.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $883.04.

About Costco Wholesale

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.