Ethos Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,568 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $390,000. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the third quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 359 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $1,591,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Advisory LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.1% during the third quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,047.75 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $987.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $941.75. The stock has a market cap of $465.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.52, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.

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 given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

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.