Certuity LLC Buys 815 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Certuity LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 64.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,084 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the quarter. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,065.12 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $964.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $918.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,067.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $472.81 billion, a PE 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 quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be 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 is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.