Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 758 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the 4th 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. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the period. Finally, Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $157,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of COST opened at $1,047.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $987.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $941.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $465.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.52, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

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.