Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,984 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.6% of Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $34,804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,055.66 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $977.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $935.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $468.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.99, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.