Bellecapital International Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bellecapital International Ltd. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,391 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 4.1% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $23,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,224,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 40.1% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 62,476 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $57,245,000 after acquiring an additional 17,895 shares in the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,074 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,482,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 278.2% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 4,591 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,207,000 after acquiring an additional 3,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $102,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,048.61 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company’s 50-day moving average is $982.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $938.10. 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 has a market capitalization of $465.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.57, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

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.