Curbstone Financial Management Corp Acquires New Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 438 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $401,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after buying 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 valued at $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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 report on Thursday, December 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $964.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.93 billion, a PE ratio of 56.61, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $953.06 and its 200-day moving average is $905.62. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $690.80 and a fifty-two week high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

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.