State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Has $166.84 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 252,762 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 378 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.6% of State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D owned about 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $166,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Stevens Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 94.4% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 5,651 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,730,000 after acquiring an additional 2,744 shares during the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 31,930 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,555,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 37.6% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,784 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,818,000 after purchasing an additional 1,580 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,000. Finally, Bank of New Hampshire increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 6,621 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,370,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

COST stock traded up $7.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $729.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,523,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,055,590. The company has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $730.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $664.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm 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 posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. 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. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.