Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Lowered by Trust Co of Kansas

Trust Co of Kansas cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,625 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 5.3% of Trust Co of Kansas’ holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Trust Co of Kansas’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $7.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $722.69. The company had a trading volume of 759,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,170. The firm has a market cap of $320.51 billion, a PE ratio of 47.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $730.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $662.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.