Fortitude Family Office LLC Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 48.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,130 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.0% of Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 329.4% in the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Nine investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $927.37 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $411.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.46, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $946.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $897.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $658.26 and a 12-month high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.