Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's 8th Largest Position

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,434 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 646 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.8% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,013,394,000 after acquiring an additional 125,444 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,820,193,000 after acquiring an additional 43,414 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,726,107,000 after acquiring an additional 70,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI restated a "hold" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $1.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,046.85. The stock had a trading volume of 2,417,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,825,894. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $984.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $939.83. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $464.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was 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.