Sapient Capital LLC Sells 5,036 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,099 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,036 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.8% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $92,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted 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 valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,058.34 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,066.00. The stock has a market cap of $469.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.15, a PEG ratio of 6.26 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $963.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $916.76.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

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.