Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,200 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.8% of NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after acquiring an additional 6,495 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 123,292 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $110,861,000 after acquiring an additional 9,447 shares during the period. Lansing Street Advisors increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.4% during the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 16,044 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,223,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 2,930 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,621,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,046.85 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $984.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $939.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $464.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

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.