Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 14,858 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,541 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14,858 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $47,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. Raymond James boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $927.08 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $990.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $944.52. The company has a market capitalization of $411.53 billion, a PE 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.