Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,652 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $42,896,000. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Verde Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 246.8% during the 3rd quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 1,446 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,282,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reiterated 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. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

COST opened at $1,071.85 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $969.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $923.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $475.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.