Absher Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Absher Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,572 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 156 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 3.1% of Absher Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $23,430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after acquiring an additional 125,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,726,107,000 after acquiring an additional 70,561 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,050.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.71, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,063.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $958.04 and a 200 day moving average of $911.67.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.