Diversified Portfolios Inc. Buys Shares of 375 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Diversified Portfolios Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 375 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,065.12 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $964.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $918.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,067.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $472.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.54, a PEG ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid 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 yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Costco Wholesale 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.