Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 31.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,002 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after buying an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third 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 during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,065.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $964.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $918.45. The stock has a market cap of $472.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.54, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,067.00.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

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.