Independent Advisor Alliance Acquires 2,144 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,125 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,144 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $32,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $964.31 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $989.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $943.88. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

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.