Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Proffitt & Goodson Inc.

Proffitt & Goodson Inc. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11 shares during the quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $91,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,820,193,000 after acquiring an additional 43,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,726,107,000 after buying an additional 70,561 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,048.61 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $465.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $982.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $937.59. 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 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 paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.