Root Financial Partners LLC Buys 477 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 46.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,493 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,071.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $475.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.94, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $967.91 and its 200 day moving average is $920.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.