Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 85,650 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,583 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $78,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 6.1 %

COST stock opened at $964.31 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $989.69 and a 200 day moving average of $943.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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.