Cidel Asset Management Inc. Sells 114 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cidel Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,994 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,827,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lifted 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. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,063.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $961.27 and a 200 day moving average of $914.00. 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 quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Costco Wholesale 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.