Barings LLC Has $347,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Barings LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 379 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Barings LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in 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. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $964.31 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $989.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $943.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten research 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale 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.