Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,936 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 276 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,043.81 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $463.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,063.00. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $961.27 and a 200-day moving average of $914.43.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. 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.