ExodusPoint Capital Management LP decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 96.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,349 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 34,774 shares during the quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,941,708,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,098,880 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,689,979,000 after buying an additional 54,574 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,376,513,000 after buying an additional 7,390,278 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,595,523 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,780,247,000 after buying an additional 535,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,328,844,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.31% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $590.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $475.00 to $510.00 in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.42.
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $546.69 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $548.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $516.53. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $447.90 and a fifty-two week high of $571.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.57.
Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 24th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.22%.
Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale
In other news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.02, for a total transaction of $783,030.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,850 shares in the company, valued at $12,450,177. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $522.02, for a total value of $783,030.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,850 shares in the company, valued at $12,450,177. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total value of $834,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,104,357. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.
About Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.
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