Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Whittier Trust Co.

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,331 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $52,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $886.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $889.73 and a 200 day moving average of $835.23. The firm has a market cap of $393.14 billion, a PE ratio of 54.94, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $890.07.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.