Vest Financial LLC Buys 171 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,180 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.7 %

COST opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,063.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $961.27 and a 200-day moving average of $914.00. The stock has a market cap of $463.35 billion, a PE ratio of 61.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. 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 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 given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

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.