Royal Fund Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Royal Fund Management LLC cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 48.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 270 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 252 shares during the quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,836 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,599,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,864,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. New Hampshire Trust boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 6,061 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,554,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,623 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,069,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 351 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $947.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $950.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $902.31. The stock has a market cap of $420.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $675.96 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents 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 available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.