Ferguson Shapiro LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ferguson Shapiro LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 379 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. Ferguson Shapiro LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after buying an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in 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 valued at $2,726,107,000 after purchasing an additional 70,561 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $979.01 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $953.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $906.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $691.50 and a 52 week high of $1,008.25. The company has a market cap of $434.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.49, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital boosted 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

About Costco Wholesale

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.