Quilter Plc Acquires New Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Quilter Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 309 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,061.92 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,063.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $961.27 and its 200 day moving average is $915.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $471.39 billion, a PE ratio of 62.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. 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. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

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.