Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,872 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 research note on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,061.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $961.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $915.02. The stock has a market cap of $471.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.36, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,063.00.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

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.