United Asset Strategies Inc. Buys 59 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,260 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,071,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $965.25 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $686.26 and a 1-year high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $428.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.68, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $951.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $903.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

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.