Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,890 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 198 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $961.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $914.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,063.00. The firm has a market cap of $463.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.