D Orazio & Associates Inc. Acquires 51 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,491 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,063.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $961.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $914.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $463.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.29, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Raymond James upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.