Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,822 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 289 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,896,000. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the third quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Walker Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Walker Financial Services Inc. now owns 306 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 2,110 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,871,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $961.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $914.00. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,063.00. The company has a market cap of $463.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

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.