HCR Wealth Advisors Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

HCR Wealth Advisors lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,967 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 66 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.9% of HCR Wealth Advisors’ portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. HCR Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after buying an additional 162,191 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,013,394,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $919.75 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $675.96 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $949.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $900.36. The company has a market capitalization of $408.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.84.

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.