Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Buys 1,972 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,466 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.7% of Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,035.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $459.45 billion, a PE ratio of 60.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $975.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $930.59.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average 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.