Waverton Investment Management Ltd Cuts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Waverton Investment Management Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,832 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 947 shares during the period. Waverton Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,035.03 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $459.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.78, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $975.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $932.24.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.