Sonata Capital Group Inc. Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sonata Capital Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,794 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Sonata Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,896,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,169 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $194,245,000 after buying an additional 11,678 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 14.2% in the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,065.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $964.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $918.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,067.00. The firm has a market cap of $472.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.54, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital upped 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. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

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.