Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,695 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 4,315 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $63,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

COST traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,032.83. 1,111,663 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,883,502. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $974.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $928.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.32 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 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average 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.