Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Perpetual Ltd

Perpetual Ltd decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 717 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third 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 grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Gill Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scott Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Scott Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,348 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $944.70 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $950.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $902.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $419.35 billion, a PE ratio of 55.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $675.96 and a fifty-two week 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.

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.