Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stake Decreased by Montecito Bank & Trust

Montecito Bank & Trust cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,374 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 853 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.2% of Montecito Bank & Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. State Street Corp raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,141,062,000 after acquiring an additional 90,107 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $5,692,035,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,248,384,000 after purchasing an additional 383,887 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,697,000 after purchasing an additional 986,182 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,145,241 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,911,331,000 after purchasing an additional 34,826 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,228 shares in the company, valued at $4,169,907.28. The trade was a 16.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total value of $437,390.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,532 shares in the company, valued at $8,148,060. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,645 shares of company stock worth $7,049,302. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Evercore set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,171.00 to $1,088.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,039.13.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $965.73 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $984.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $938.56. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,067.08. The firm has a market cap of $428.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.22, a PEG ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.04%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.