Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,814 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 707 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.6% of Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113.5% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $994,000. Finally, Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,376 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,993,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $930.49 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $990.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $944.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $413.04 billion, a PE ratio of 54.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. 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.