Bray Capital Advisors Sells 1,655 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bray Capital Advisors reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,753 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,655 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.9% of Bray Capital Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Bray Capital Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,034.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $974.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $928.97.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.