Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,490 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after acquiring an additional 88,550 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $964.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $427.12 billion, a PE ratio of 58.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $582.83 and a 12 month high of $976.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $901.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $865.47.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.