Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 7,001 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 228,641 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 7,001 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Fifth Third Bancorp owned approximately 0.05% of Costco Wholesale worth $209,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 775 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Bennett Selby Investments LP lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 944 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Cottonwood Capital Advisors LLC now owns 471 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 131.7% in the fourth quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $4,073,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $939.68 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $951.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $903.72. 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 capitalization of $417.12 billion, a PE ratio of 55.18, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $675.96 and a 1-year high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. 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. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

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.