Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by GSB Wealth Management LLC

GSB Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,794 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 138 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.9% of GSB Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. GSB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after acquiring an additional 382,367 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after buying an additional 338,489 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after buying an additional 162,191 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $939.68 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $951.57 and its 200-day moving average is $903.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.