Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. Sells 246 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,026 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.4% of Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,035.03. The 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. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $974.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $928.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.78, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. 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.