Arizona State Retirement System Buys 1,692 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,775 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.7% of Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $117,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,700 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,474,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. LVZ Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 281.1% during the fourth quarter. LVZ Inc. now owns 869 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $796,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 42,302 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,760,000 after buying an additional 2,671 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 527 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $1,036.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $460.27 billion, a PE ratio of 60.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $986.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $941.00.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.