Brookstone Capital Management Raises Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,448 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after acquiring an additional 88,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,013,394,000 after acquiring an additional 125,444 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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. This represents 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased 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. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of COST traded down $13.12 on Monday, hitting $923.82. 513,136 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,748,431. The company has a market capitalization of $410.08 billion, a PE ratio of 54.25, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $947.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $899.20. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $675.96 and a one year high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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