State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 2,600 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 175,069 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,600 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.8% of State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $160,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,046.85 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $984.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $939.83. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $464.70 billion, a PE ratio of 61.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.