LVZ Inc. Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

LVZ Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 281.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 869 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 641 shares during the quarter. LVZ Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $10.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,047.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,896,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,833,593. The stock has a market cap of $465.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.52, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $987.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $941.75.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a 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

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.