Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Talbot Financial LLC

Talbot Financial LLC decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,837 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,469 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.9% of Talbot Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Westmount Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,556,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $476,000. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 6,402 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,866,000 after purchasing an additional 1,760 shares during the period. Thomasville National Bank boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Thomasville National Bank now owns 832 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 139,415 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $127,742,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $9.55 during trading on Monday, reaching $927.39. The stock had a trading volume of 830,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,797,969. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $675.96 and a 52 week high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $411.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $947.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $899.20.

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 given 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 dividend payout ratio is 27.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Loop Capital lifted 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 note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.