Community Trust & Investment Co. Acquires 266 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,548 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during 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 approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $899.17 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $398.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $891.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $836.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,220 shares of company stock worth $9,971,643. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.