Grassi Investment Management Grows Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Grassi Investment Management boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,155 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the quarter. Grassi Investment Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during 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. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,013,394,000 after acquiring an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $924.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $948.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $899.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.30, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $675.96 and a fifty-two week high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value 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 $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

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.