Brown Financial Advisors Sells 213 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Brown Financial Advisors decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,130 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Brown Financial Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,035.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $976.47 and a 200 day moving average of $933.62. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. 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 $459.70 billion, a PE ratio of 60.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.