Horan Capital Advisors LLC. Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Horan Capital Advisors LLC. lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 42.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 429 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 319 shares during the period. Horan Capital Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,046.85 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $464.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $984.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $939.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

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.