Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 56,072 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,919 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $51,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,896,000. Tobam raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.8% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 453 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,999,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,116 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,855,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,915,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $463.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $959.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $912.64. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,063.00.

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 paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

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.