Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Sells 11 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,005 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,035.03 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $459.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $975.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $930.59. 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 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

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.