Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 822,633 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,947 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.7% of National Pension Service’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. National Pension Service’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $753,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Evercore ISI reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.9 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,055.66 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $977.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $935.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $468.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.99, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.