Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Boosted by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 45.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,254 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,384 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.4% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $107,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth 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. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,071.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $967.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $920.57. The stock has a market cap of $475.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.94, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 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.