OFI Invest Asset Management Buys New Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 34,574 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $30,593,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $964.31 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $989.69 and its 200-day moving average is $943.44. The stock has a market cap of $428.06 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

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.