Empirical Finance LLC Sells 186 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,089 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Empirical Finance LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,473,000 after acquiring an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of COST opened at $1,043.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $463.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,063.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $961.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $914.43. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average 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.