Aigen Investment Management LP Sells 3,756 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Aigen Investment Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 79.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 946 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,756 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,474,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. LVZ Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 281.1% during the 4th quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 869 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $796,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,302 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,671 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 33.4% in the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 527 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,047.75 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $987.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $941.75. 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 stock has a market cap of $465.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

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.