First Business Financial Services Inc. Acquires 104 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,180 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.4% of First Business Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,047.75 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $465.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $987.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $941.75.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

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.