Bell Bank Acquires 38 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bell Bank lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,370 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Raymond James boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,035.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $459.45 billion, a PE ratio of 60.78, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $975.61 and its 200 day moving average is $930.59. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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