Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Has $22.64 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,712 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,943 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $0.20 on Friday, hitting $1,035.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,815,187 shares, 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 50 day moving average is $974.70 and its 200-day moving average is $928.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $459.45 billion, a PE ratio of 60.78, a PEG ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend 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.