Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys 245 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,582 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,058.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $469.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,066.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $963.01 and a 200 day moving average of $916.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

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.