Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 564 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 564 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $517,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fonville Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Fonville Wealth Management LLC now owns 492 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,159,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,872 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,789,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Elevate Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,110,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 14,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,836,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,061.92 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,063.00. The firm has a market cap of $471.39 billion, a PE ratio of 62.36, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $961.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $915.02.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio 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.