ST Germain D J Co. Inc. Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

ST Germain D J Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,351 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 76 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after acquiring an additional 338,780 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after acquiring an additional 338,489 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded down $0.25 on Friday, hitting $927.12. 1,042,278 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,668,274. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $946.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $897.99. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $667.64 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market cap of $411.55 billion, a PE ratio of 54.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.