Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Trimmed by LexAurum Advisors LLC

LexAurum Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,525 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. LexAurum Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $939.68 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $675.96 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25. The company has a market cap of $417.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $951.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $903.72.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

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.