Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by OLD Second National Bank of Aurora

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,035 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,896,000. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 90,312 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $80,063,000 after buying an additional 5,799 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.0% in the third quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 756 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,898 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $283,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on 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. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

COST opened at $979.88 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $691.50 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $954.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $906.54. The firm has a market cap of $434.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

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.