Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 868 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $157,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.6 %

COST stock opened at $1,048.61 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.48 billion, a PE ratio of 61.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $982.51 and a 200 day moving average of $938.10.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

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.