Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Leavell Investment Management Inc.

Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,276 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,085,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,065.12 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 company has a market capitalization of $472.81 billion, a PE ratio of 62.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $964.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $918.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,067.00.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on COST. Raymond James raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.