Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,184 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 48 shares during the quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,048.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $982.51 and its 200 day moving average is $937.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $465.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.