River Global Investors LLP Purchases Shares of 19,659 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

River Global Investors LLP acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 19,659 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $18,017,000. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.5% of River Global Investors LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $964.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $989.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $942.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

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.