MWA Asset Management Sells 40 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

MWA Asset Management cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,159 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 40 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.5% of MWA Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $42,896,000. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Nvest Financial LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nvest Financial LLC now owns 2,527 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Walker Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Walker Financial Services Inc. now owns 306 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Iowa State Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 2,110 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,871,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.7 %

COST stock opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $961.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $914.00. 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 $463.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,063.00.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on 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 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.