Retirement Systems of Alabama Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 139,350 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,461 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $127,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after buying an additional 382,367 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,473,000 after buying an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during 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 period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,042.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $956.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $910.75. The stock has a market cap of $462.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,043.09.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.