Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Trimmed by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,365 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.8% of Simmons Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Sabal Trust CO increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. Sabal Trust CO now owns 561 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $514,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 32.4% in the 4th quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 7,929 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,265,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942 shares during the period. National Pension Service grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 822,633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $753,754,000 after purchasing an additional 9,947 shares in the last quarter. Fjell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $1,735,000. Finally, DMKC Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $255,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,055.66 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $977.94 and its 200-day moving average is $935.03. The company has a market cap of $468.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.99, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 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.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

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.