Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Renaissance Investment Group LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Renaissance Investment Group LLC lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,373 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 648 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 4.5% of Renaissance Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Renaissance Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $979,284,000 after buying an additional 382,367 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 56.8% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 566,864 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,829,000 after purchasing an additional 205,237 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.5 %

COST opened at $943.19 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $418.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $949.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $901.47. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $675.96 and a one year high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.