Montecito Bank & Trust Acquires 312 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Montecito Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,498 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.5% of Montecito Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 680 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 3,163 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,898,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 796 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veracity Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $939.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $417.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $950.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $903.31. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $675.96 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 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.