Bailard Inc. Sells 160 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bailard Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,906 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.9% of Bailard Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 15,397 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,650,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 1,209 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Values Added Financial LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Values Added Financial LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fonville Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.6 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,048.61 on Friday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $982.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $938.10. The company has a market cap of $465.48 billion, a PE ratio of 61.57, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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