Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by HTLF Bank

HTLF Bank decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,669 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. HTLF Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,194,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,043.81 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $961.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $914.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,063.00. The company has a market capitalization of $463.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.