Banco Santander S.A. Sells 1,084 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Banco Santander S.A. lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,479 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,084 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. 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, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 6.1 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $964.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $428.06 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $989.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $943.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Costco Wholesale 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.