Metis Global Partners LLC Has $20.12 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,955 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 398 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.6% of Metis Global Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after acquiring an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $157,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.6 %

COST stock opened at $1,048.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $982.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $937.59. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two 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 company has a market cap of $465.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.