Howard Capital Management Inc. Purchases 1,187 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,640 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,035.03 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $459.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $975.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $931.39.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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