Beaton Management Co. Inc. Cuts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,730 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 240 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.7% of Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased 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 boosted its holdings 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 valued at $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,056.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $972.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $927.29. The company has a market cap of $468.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.01, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

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.