Smith Salley Wealth Management Has $465,000 Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Smith Salley Wealth Management lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 507 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 155 shares during the quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,708 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,398,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Gill Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Gill Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Insider Activity 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 value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $943.19 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $418.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.38, a PEG ratio of 5.60 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. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $949.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $901.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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.