Abacus Planning Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,212 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Gill Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Scott Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Scott Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,062.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $471.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.37 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 50 day simple moving average of $973.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $928.24. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

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.