Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 707 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,814 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 707 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.6% of Securian Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,820,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third 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 last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $984,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $930.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $413.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.64, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $990.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $944.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

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.