Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 466 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Lincoln Capital Corp now owns 412 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Conway Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Conway Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,573,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 9,498 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,703,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 680 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

COST opened at $939.68 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $950.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $903.31. The company has a market capitalization of $417.12 billion, a PE ratio of 55.18, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $675.96 and a 1-year high of $1,008.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

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.