Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Defender Capital LLC.’s 10th Largest Position

Defender Capital LLC. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,070 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 64 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 4.1% of Defender Capital LLC.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Defender Capital LLC.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in 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 Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,726,107,000 after buying an additional 70,561 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $979.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $953.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $906.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $691.50 and a fifty-two week high of $1,008.25. The stock has a market cap of $434.58 billion, a PE ratio of 57.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 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.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

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.