Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,681 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Raymond James raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of COST opened at $1,021.71 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $980.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $936.31. The company 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.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 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.