GPM Growth Investors Inc. Reduces Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

GPM Growth Investors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,807 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 346 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 4.6% of GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. GPM Growth Investors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,047.75 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $465.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.52, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $987.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $941.75.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.