Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC Purchases 29 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,072 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.0% of Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Wealth Advisors of Iowa LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,164,000. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Oxford Financial Group LTD. LLC now owns 4,242 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,887,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,570,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. now owns 2,518 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,307,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Vickerman Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,460 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,086,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,047.75 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $465.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.52, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $987.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $941.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Costco Wholesale 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.