ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Has $2.91 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,179 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,400 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,864,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. New Hampshire Trust increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 6,061 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,554,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $6,069,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealthquest Corp now owns 351 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Cove Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of 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. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $675.96 and a 12-month high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $420.70 billion, a PE ratio of 55.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $950.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $902.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

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.