AdvisorNet Financial Inc Sells 36 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,154 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the third quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 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 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 of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $924.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $948.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $899.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.30, a P/E/G 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.25%.

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.