Financial Advocates Investment Management Sells 182 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Financial Advocates Investment Management decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 10,376 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 182 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,050.99 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,063.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $958.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $911.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

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.