New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Decreases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,165 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.7% of New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,071.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $969.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $922.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $475.79 billion, a PE ratio of 62.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.