Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1,586.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,070,005 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.4% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.26% of Costco Wholesale worth $980,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,780 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Permanent Capital Management LP bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $874,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 43.6% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 23,444 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,700,000 after purchasing an additional 7,116 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $2,781,000. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.9% during the second quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 18,132 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total transaction of $1,776,913.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,320,773.08. The trade was a 16.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total transaction of $838,321.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,169,907.28. The trade was a 16.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,645 shares of company stock valued at $7,049,302. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $965.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,067.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $984.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $938.56.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.03. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The company had revenue of $69.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $926.00 to $977.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,175.00 to $1,315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,039.13.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.