Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,261,508 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 44,443 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.28% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,155,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in 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 during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after buying an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,071.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $969.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $923.85. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $475.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.94, 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.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on COST. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

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.