Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI Purchases 336 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,360 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the quarter. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 6.1 %

COST opened at $964.31 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. 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 market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $989.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $943.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

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.