Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,167 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,034.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $459.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $974.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $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 Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year 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 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.