Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Buys 15 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,555 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,955 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $20,117,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 366 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Williamson Legacy Group LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $168,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,048.61 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $982.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $937.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $465.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.