ING Groep NV Decreases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

ING Groep NV lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 40.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,714 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 52,429 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $70,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Citizens National Bank Trust Department raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 1,857 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,508 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $11,460,000 after purchasing an additional 3,711 shares during the period. RW Investment Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,153,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the period. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 785 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Alliance raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 1,295 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,187,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.7 %

COST opened at $1,034.22 on Friday. 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 $974.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $928.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.73, a PEG ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.84.

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 dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

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.