Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Cypress Capital Group

Cypress Capital Group trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,315 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.9% of Cypress Capital Group’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. TD Cowen raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 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 $1,036.87 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $986.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $941.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company 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 has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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