Bank of Stockton Reduces Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bank of Stockton decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,135 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 176 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.9% of Bank of Stockton’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $891.22 on Friday. 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 market cap of $394.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.79, a PEG ratio of 5.50 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $891.76 and a 200 day moving average of $839.41.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

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.