Empirical Asset Management LLC Acquires 4,353 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 25.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,638 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,353 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,826,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 56.8% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 566,864 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,829,000 after buying an additional 205,237 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $943.19 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $675.96 and a 52-week high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $418.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $949.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $900.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

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.