Financial Security Advisor Inc. Acquires 23 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Financial Security Advisor Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 814 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Financial Security Advisor Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,021.71 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $980.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $936.31. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $453.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.99, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.