Global Wealth Strategies & Associates Buys 60 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 291 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fermata Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,144,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,011.74.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $9.94 on Thursday, reaching $906.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,085,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,942,804. The stock has a market capitalization of $402.32 billion, a PE ratio of 53.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $942.54 and its 200 day moving average is $895.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $640.51 and a one year high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,816 shares of company stock valued at $6,981,347 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is 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.