1,084 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Bought by Novus Advisors LLC

Novus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,084 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $993,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.0% of Novus Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,026.62 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $989.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $942.33. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. 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 market cap of $455.72 billion, a PE ratio of 60.28, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.