Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 96,271 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,261 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.2% of Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $88,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after acquiring an additional 382,367 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $157,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 research report on Thursday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective 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, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,047.75 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $465.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $987.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $941.75. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend 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.