Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Increased by Sunflower Bank N.A.

Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 687 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $20,056,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $924.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $410.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $948.69 and a 200-day moving average of $899.73. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $675.96 and a 52-week high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.