Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,056,933 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.7% of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $968,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $42,896,000. Tobam increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% during the third quarter. Tobam now owns 453 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,639 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,999,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,116 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,855,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $1,915,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,043.81 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,063.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $959.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $912.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $463.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.