Conning Inc. Decreases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Conning Inc. lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,822 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 289 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,167,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 3,799 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,481,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Clarity Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,442 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,484,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,283 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 21,840 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,011,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,347 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,067,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,043.81 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 $961.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $914.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,063.00. The stock 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 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 27.25%.

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.