ING Groep NV Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

ING Groep NV lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 40.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,714 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 52,429 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $70,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $979,284,000 after buying an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $300,473,000 after buying an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,035.03. 1,815,187 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,906,306. The stock has a market cap of $459.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.78, a PEG ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $974.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $928.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale 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.