Sage Private Wealth Group LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sage Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 322 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 15 shares during the period. Sage Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $42,896,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,169 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $194,245,000 after acquiring an additional 11,678 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,495 shares during the period. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

COST stock opened at $1,065.12 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,067.00. The company has a market capitalization of $472.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $964.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $918.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

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.