Altiora Financial Group LLC Has $877,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Altiora Financial Group LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 957 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 33 shares during the period. Altiora Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $964.31 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $989.69 and its 200-day moving average is $943.88. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. 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 $428.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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.