Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s 3rd Largest Position

Capital Investment Counsel Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 63,143 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 5,666 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 8.7% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $57,856,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Scott Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Scott Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,034.22 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $459.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.73, a PEG ratio of 6.32 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. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $974.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $928.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date 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.