SWP Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SWP Financial LLC lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 309 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 67 shares during the quarter. SWP Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 1,517 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,390,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $798,000. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 972 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Edge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Edge Advisors LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,866,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $965.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $951.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $903.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $686.26 and a fifty-two week high of $1,008.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. 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 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 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.