Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Sells 6,268 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,684 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 6,268 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.9% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $99,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,013,394,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,726,107,000 after buying an additional 70,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of COST stock traded down $8.14 on Friday, reaching $1,026.69. 621,706 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,870,614. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $455.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.84. The business's 50 day moving average price is $974.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $928.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.