Rialto Wealth Management LLC Buys New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Rialto Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 189 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $173,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 107,216 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $95,001,000 after buying an additional 6,559 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,403,000. Holistic Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Windward Capital Management Co. CA increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the third quarter. Windward Capital Management Co. CA now owns 73,633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $65,277,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $964.31 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $428.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $989.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $943.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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.