Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 46,898 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,873 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.5% of Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $42,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third 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 during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $20,056,000. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,430,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $939.68 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $675.96 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.12 billion, a PE ratio of 55.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $951.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $903.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.