Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Has $20.65 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,532 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,457 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1,300.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 308 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.7% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,588 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,632 shares in the last quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the second quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 27,104 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $23,038,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the second quarter. Vista Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,566 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,181,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,534,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded down $9.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $927.68. 810,187 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,795,170. The stock has a market capitalization of $411.80 billion, a PE ratio of 54.47, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $675.96 and a 52 week 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. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $947.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $899.20.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Costco Wholesale 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.