Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Liberty Wealth Management LLC

Liberty Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 881 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,820,193,000 after acquiring an additional 43,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,726,107,000 after acquiring an additional 70,561 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $930.49 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $413.04 billion, a PE ratio of 54.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $990.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $944.64.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

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.