Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 149,842 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 686,405 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 149,842 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.1% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $608,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $893.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $395.85 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a PEG ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $891.03 and a 200-day moving average of $836.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.