Chatham Capital Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,801 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,026.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $455.72 billion, a PE ratio of 60.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $989.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $942.33.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

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.