Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA Sells 14 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,033 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 14 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.3% of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,863,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after buying an additional 338,489 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,005.83 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,009.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $954.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $908.28.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.25%.

Costco Wholesale 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.