Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 9,277 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Boston Trust Walden Corp decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 149,078 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 9,277 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.0% of Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $136,596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,021.86 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $955.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $909.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $453.60 billion, a PE ratio of 60.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,024.35.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

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.