Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,541 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 14,858 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $47,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,030.43.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 3.9 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $36.46 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $890.62. 3,438,222 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,814,254. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $990.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $944.14. 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 $395.35 billion, a PE ratio of 52.30, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.09%.

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.