Davidson Investment Advisors Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Davidson Investment Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 768 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the quarter. Davidson Investment Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after acquiring an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,056.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $972.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $927.29. 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 company has a market capitalization of $468.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. 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 currently 27.25%.

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.