5 Best Defensive Stocks to Buy Now

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In this article, we will look at 5 best defensive stocks to buy now. If you want to read about the current economic situation, you can go to 10 Best Defensive Stocks to Buy Now.

5. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 61

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST), a big-box retailer, is among the best defensive stocks to buy right now because of robust demand for the company’s products and Costco Wholesale Corporation’s (NASDAQ:COST) pricing power over peers. Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) owns and operates a variety of discount stores, and as of June 23, the company has 833 warehouses spread throughout the world. 

As of June 9, Atlantic Equities analyst Daniela Nedialkova has a $615 price target and buy-side Overweight rating on Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST). The analyst noted that the company continues to deliver “strong comp momentum”,  which can help it offset gross margin pressures.

In addition to analysts, institutional investors are also bullish on the big-box retailer. Insider Monkey found 61 hedge funds having stakes in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) at the close of Q1 2022. These stakes amounted to $5.41 billion, up from $5.40 billion a quarter ago with 57 positions.

As of March 31, Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the dominating shareholder in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST), owning over 4.22 million shares of the company that carry a price tag of $2.43 billion.

ClearBridge Investments named Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) among other stocks in its Q4 2021 investor letter, here is what the investment management firm had to say:

“Portfolio gains were led by a diverse group of contributors. Also in consumer discretionary, Costco, which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores, continues to impress as it takes to share and becomes more relevant for the consumer even as the world opens up.”

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