Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,330 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.6% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $5.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $720.77. The company had a trading volume of 420,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,029,275. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.66 billion, a PE ratio of 47.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $730.46 and its 200-day moving average is $668.62.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.35%.

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.