GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Cuts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,584 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 658 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scott Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Scott Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $959.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $912.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $463.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.29, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,063.00.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.