LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Cuts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,309 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,048.61 on Monday. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $982.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $938.63. The stock has a market cap of $465.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.57, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

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.