Essex LLC Sells 80 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Essex LLC lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 831 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Essex LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after acquiring an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,043.81 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $463.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,063.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $961.27 and its 200 day moving average is $914.43.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.25%.

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.