Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Buys 500 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 86.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,081 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,034.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $459.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.73, a PEG ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $974.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $928.97. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s 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.