Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Elk River Wealth Management LLC

Elk River Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,376 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 103 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.9% of Elk River Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Elk River Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Corps Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $1,408,000. Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,212 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 68,945 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $63,172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 4,995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,577,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Emerald Advisors LLC now owns 643,510 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $589,629,000 after purchasing an additional 16,559 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6 %

COST opened at $1,062.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $471.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The business’s 50 day moving average is $973.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $928.24. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

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.