Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,767 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 206 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after buying an additional 162,191 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after buying an additional 125,444 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,726,107,000 after buying an additional 70,561 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,034,491 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,690,138,000 after buying an additional 78,590 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of 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 increased their price target 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. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,035.03 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $975.61 and a 200-day moving average of $932.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $459.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.78, a PEG ratio of 6.15 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio 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.