Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,305 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 207 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.1% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,036.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $460.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.88, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $986.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $941.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 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.