Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $19.46 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Empire Life Investments Inc. cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,242 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,066 shares during the quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,463,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $1,071.85 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $969.49 and a 200-day moving average of $922.35. The firm has a market cap of $475.79 billion, a PE ratio of 62.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

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.