Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 14,539 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,244 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,539 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.8% of Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $49,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Capital Insight Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 1,456 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 1,681 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,540,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 2,335 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,449 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Blossom Wealth Management raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 731 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $979.88 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $954.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $907.85. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $691.50 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $434.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.54, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

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.