Sivia Capital Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.7% of Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Sivia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Bank & Trust Co now owns 7,317 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,704,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 54.6% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 705 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $646,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,822,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 143.3% in the fourth quarter. Accelerate Investment Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $924.70 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $675.96 and a 52-week high of $1,008.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $948.69 and a 200-day moving average of $899.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.