Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Cut by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,761 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 219 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.9% of Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,609,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $4,202,000. Beck Bode LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 15,957 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,563,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 266,964 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $226,917,000 after purchasing an additional 18,628 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.3% during the second quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 726,332 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $576,044,000 after purchasing an additional 67,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $264,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $942.16 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $950.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $903.04. 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 company has a market cap of $418.22 billion, a PE ratio of 55.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $675.96 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

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.