Crescent Sterling Ltd. Buys 81 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Crescent Sterling Ltd. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 813 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Crescent Sterling Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,491 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,282,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 96,068 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $88,024,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,386,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Brown Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 4,634 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,246,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James increased their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $936.94 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $415.91 billion, a PE ratio of 55.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $947.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $899.20. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $667.64 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.