Symmetry Partners LLC Has $999,000 Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Symmetry Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 194.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,090 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $999,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,246 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $44,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 191,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $175,353,000 after buying an additional 87,392 shares during the period. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 1,024 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 21,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,674,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 214,674 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $196,699,000 after purchasing an additional 4,502 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $904.05 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $401.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $988.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $944.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Costco Wholesale 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.