BOCHK Asset Management Ltd Buys 11,200 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BOCHK Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2,240.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,700 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,200 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 3.3% of BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen upped 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $979.01 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $691.50 and a 52 week high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $434.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.49, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $953.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $906.03.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.