Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Has $25.14 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,434 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 646 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.8% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in 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 Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,048.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $465.48 billion, a PE ratio of 61.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $982.51 and a 200-day moving average of $937.59.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 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.