Narwhal Capital Management Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Narwhal Capital Management decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,523 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,231 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $20,056,000. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $8,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $965.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $686.26 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $951.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $903.97. The stock has a market cap of $428.47 billion, a PE ratio of 56.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

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.