Rempart Asset Management Inc. Decreases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Rempart Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,260 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,537 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 7.0% of Rempart Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Rempart Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,056,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after buying an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,816 shares of company stock worth $6,981,347. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of COST traded down $4.85 on Wednesday, reaching $916.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 305,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,481,528. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $944.70 and a 200-day moving average of $897.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.84 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $658.26 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.