ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. Takes $2.57 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,802 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,567,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.3% of ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,035.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $975.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $931.39. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.45 billion, a PE ratio of 60.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.