SMART Wealth LLC Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SMART Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 733 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. SMART Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,013,394,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,726,107,000 after purchasing an additional 70,561 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $959.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $912.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $463.35 billion, a PE ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,063.00.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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