Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,937 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $23,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the period. United Bank boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 316 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $1,228,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 3.1 %

COST stock opened at $934.41 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $414.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $989.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $944.28. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,030.43.

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.