Root Financial Partners LLC Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 46.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,493 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd 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 position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $1,071.85 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $475.79 billion, a PE ratio of 62.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $967.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $920.57.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.