Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 4,473 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,094 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,473 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $100,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd 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. Holistic Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $269,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 39,631 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,134,000 after purchasing an additional 4,785 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of COST opened at $964.31 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $989.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $943.88. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

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.