Hartline Investment Corp Has $9.14 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Hartline Investment Corp lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,978 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.0% of Hartline Investment Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $42,896,000. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $156,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.5% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,169 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $194,245,000 after purchasing an additional 11,678 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $1,058.34 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $963.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $916.76. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,066.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $469.80 billion, a PE ratio of 62.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

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.