Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Cuts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,749 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 16 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after acquiring an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $2,820,193,000 after acquiring an additional 43,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position 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 worth $2,726,107,000 after acquiring an additional 70,561 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,036.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $460.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.88, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $986.01 and its 200 day moving average is $941.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

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.