Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Reduced by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,053 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 437 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $939.68 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $417.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.18, a PEG ratio of 5.63 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $951.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $903.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $675.96 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

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.