Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $3.28 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,586 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,116 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation were worth $3,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Main Street Research LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 4.9% in the first quarter. Main Street Research LLC now owns 64,704 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,850,000 after buying an additional 3,023 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,254,387 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,798,000 after buying an additional 79,201 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 26.2% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,597,008 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $267,802,000 after buying an additional 331,400 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 3.5% in the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 31,724 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,320,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 7.8% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 4,594 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.14% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ COST) opened at 156.44 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $158.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.02. The company has a market cap of $68.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.16 and a beta of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $142.11 and a 1-year high of $183.18.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 25th. The retailer reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale Corporation had a return on equity of 20.45% and a net margin of 2.06%. The firm had revenue of $28.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post $5.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale Corporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Costco Wholesale Corporation’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.66%.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Vetr upgraded Costco Wholesale Corporation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $168.75 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 price target on Costco Wholesale Corporation and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation in a report on Thursday, May 4th. BidaskClub downgraded Costco Wholesale Corporation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. Finally, Cowen and Company set a $180.00 price target on Costco Wholesale Corporation and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Costco Wholesale Corporation has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.11.

In other news, Director John W. Meisenbach sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.25, for a total value of $159,250.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,974 shares in the company, valued at $792,109.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John D. Mckay sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.60, for a total value of $544,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 62,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,369,431.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,000 shares of company stock worth $2,677,430 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Corporation Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation is engaged in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Spain, and through its subsidiaries in Taiwan and Korea. As of August 28, 2016, the Company operated 715 warehouses across the world.

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