Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 61.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 168,891 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 271,928 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.8% of Bridgewater Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $149,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after buying an additional 125,444 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,034,491 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,690,138,000 after buying an additional 78,590 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $971.50 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $903.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $868.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $430.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.63, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $582.83 and a 1-year high of $976.30.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

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.