Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,815 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $116,335,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $979,284,000 after acquiring an additional 382,367 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $979.88 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $691.50 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $954.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $907.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.97 billion, a PE ratio of 57.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.75 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

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.