Sound Income Strategies LLC Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sound Income Strategies LLC trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 906 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after buying an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,726,107,000 after buying an additional 70,561 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $939.68 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $951.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $903.72. The firm 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. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $675.96 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. 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.