United Community Bank Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

United Community Bank lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,021 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. United Community Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,352 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Barings LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Barings LLC now owns 379 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,299,535 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,132,519,000 after purchasing an additional 231,969 shares during the period. Permanent Capital Management LP bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $295,000. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 9,884 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,056,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $964.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $428.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $989.69 and its 200 day moving average is $943.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

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.