Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,109 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,275 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.0% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $88,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings 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 worth $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position 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 worth $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted 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 valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 56.8% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 566,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,829,000 after buying an additional 205,237 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $943.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $418.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $949.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $900.50. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $675.96 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

About Costco Wholesale

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.