Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Lessened by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,883 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,634 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,759 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $1,494,000. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,389 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,770,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Paul R. Ried Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $1,590,000. Finally, Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,363 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,997,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,021.86 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $955.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $909.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,024.35. The stock has a market cap of $453.60 billion, a PE ratio of 60.00, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 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.