A&I Financial Services LLC Makes New $303,000 Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

A&I Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 331 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th 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 shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $1,021.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $453.54 billion, a PE ratio of 59.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $980.62 and its 200-day moving average is $936.31. 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.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. 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.