First Bank & Trust Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Bank & Trust cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,107 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 55 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.7% of First Bank & Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after buying an additional 382,367 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,473,000 after buying an additional 338,489 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,062.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $471.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.39, a PEG ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $973.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $928.24. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.