Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by WT Wealth Management

WT Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the quarter. WT Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,031.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $458.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.60, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $979.28 and a 200-day moving average of $935.71. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given 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 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.