Birinyi Associates Inc. Sells 90 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Birinyi Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,775 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.2% of Birinyi Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Birinyi Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,896,000. Swedbank AB increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,495 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 765 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Greenspring Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 105.8% in the 3rd quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC now owns 776 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 399 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $1,055.66 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $977.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $935.03. The company has a market cap of $468.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.99, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.