Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by ZRC Wealth Management LLC

ZRC Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 364 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $196,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,941,708,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,385 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,069,186,000 after buying an additional 111,505 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,376,513,000 after buying an additional 7,390,278 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,595,523 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,780,247,000 after buying an additional 535,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $2,328,844,000. 66.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $566.63.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $564.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $250.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.83, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $550.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $518.55. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $447.90 and a 52 week high of $571.16.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 25th were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.22%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total value of $834,145.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,104,357. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% 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, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.