Sowell Financial Services LLC Buys 3,445 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,150 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,445 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.0% of Sowell Financial Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.5% during the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 107,216 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $95,001,000 after buying an additional 6,559 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $33,403,000. Holistic Planning LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Windward Capital Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA now owns 73,633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $65,277,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $964.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $989.69 and a 200 day moving average of $943.44. 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 $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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.