Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,836 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,096,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer's stock worth $979,284,000 after acquiring an additional 382,367 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer's stock worth $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $14.99 on Thursday, reaching $979.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,785,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,923,439. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $953.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $906.03. 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 52-week low of $691.50 and a 52-week high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market cap of $434.58 billion, a PE ratio of 57.49, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.