Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 751 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Lakeridge Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $969.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $922.35. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $475.79 billion, a PE ratio of 62.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine research 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

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.