Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Winthrop Advisory Group LLC

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 24.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,128 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:COST traded down $11.71 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $925.23. 301,063 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,712,942. The firm has a market cap of $410.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.33, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $675.96 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $947.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $899.20.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on 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 lifted their target price on 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. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.