Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 1,959 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Highland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 37,741 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,959 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.0% of Highland Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $34,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. New England Research & Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 915 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Milestone Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Milestone Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $884,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. TLW Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. TLW Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,275 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,163,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $488,000. Finally, USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 408 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $979.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $954.19 and a 200 day moving average of $906.54. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $691.50 and a fifty-two week high of $1,008.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.54, a PEG ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

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.