Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,534 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,896,000. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 17.5% during the third quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 752 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $666,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.4% in the third quarter. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA now owns 2,047 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,035.03 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $459.45 billion, a PE ratio of 60.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $975.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $930.59. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

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.