AGF Management Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 38,208 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 12,337 shares during the quarter. AGF Management Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,009,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of COST stock traded down $3.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $927.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,326,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,810,067. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $990.22 and a 200-day moving average of $944.64. The stock has a market cap of $411.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.
COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,030.43.
Read Our Latest Analysis on COST
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.
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