Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Reduced by Keybank National Association OH

Keybank National Association OH lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 340,017 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,416 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.2% of Keybank National Association OH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Keybank National Association OH owned 0.08% of Costco Wholesale worth $311,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer's stock worth $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $10.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,047.75. The stock had a trading volume of 1,819,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,835,646. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $986.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $941.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.52, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.