Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 310 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11 shares during the quarter. Merkkuri Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $939.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $417.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $951.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $903.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $675.96 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.