Marion Wealth Management Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Marion Wealth Management raised its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,571 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Marion Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 329.4% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $924.70 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $948.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $899.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.30, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $675.96 and a 52 week high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.