Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 804 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after buying an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after buying an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,726,107,000 after buying an additional 70,561 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,056.03 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $972.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $927.29. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $468.77 billion, a PE ratio of 62.01, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.