Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,191 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.0% of Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Compton Wealth Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,224 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,033,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 17,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,987,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 2,253 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,064,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 8,582 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,863,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 8,202 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,515,000 after buying an additional 710 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:COST traded down $10.35 on Monday, reaching $926.59. 593,252 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,763,207. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $947.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $899.20. The company has a market capitalization of $411.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.41, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $675.96 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.