Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Lessened by E&G Advisors LP

E&G Advisors LP lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 385 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. E&G Advisors LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. 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.