Beaton Management Co. Inc. Has $3.42 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,730 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.7% of Beaton Management Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Beaton Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAM Holding AG lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 15,658 shares of the retailer's stock worth $14,347,000 after purchasing an additional 2,216 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,584 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,284,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Fortis Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,308,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 176,765 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $161,964,000 after buying an additional 8,124 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Quarterback LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 2,187 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,004,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment 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, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,035.03. 1,815,187 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,906,306. 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 fifty day moving average is $974.70 and its 200 day moving average is $928.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $459.45 billion, a PE ratio of 60.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 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.