BankPlus Trust Department Buys New Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,477 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gill Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised 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. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,035.03 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $975.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $932.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $459.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.78, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. 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.