Drive Wealth Management LLC Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Drive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,330 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 126 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. OLIO Financial Planning purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 1,517 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clarendon Private LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $798,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $965.25 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $686.26 and a 52-week high of $1,008.25. The stock has a market cap of $428.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.68, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a fifty day moving average of $951.57 and a 200 day moving average of $903.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

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.