SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 11,158 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,224,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in 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 period. Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after buying 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

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. UBS Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,048.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $982.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $938.10. 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 stock has a market cap of $465.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.57, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a 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.