Berkshire Bank Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Berkshire Bank decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,249 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 316,993 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $269,441,000 after buying an additional 3,526 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.1% in the second quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 3,794 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,324,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $2,677,000. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $446,000. Finally, Aldebaran Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth $212,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James increased 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. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $958.67 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $425.55 billion, a PE ratio of 56.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $686.26 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $952.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $904.81. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend 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.