Aviance Capital Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 48.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,660 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,026.62 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $989.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $942.33. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $455.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

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.