Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s 8th Largest Position

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 55.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.6% of Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $979,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $58,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 329.4% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $71,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.8% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 87 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $923.50 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $675.96 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.94 billion, a PE ratio of 54.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $949.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $900.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

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.