Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Boosted by First American Trust FSB

First American Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 43.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,654 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the quarter. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,941,708,000 after buying an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after buying an additional 7,390,278 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,901,040,000 after buying an additional 210,586 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,328,844,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $13.03 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $718.28. The stock had a trading volume of 1,795,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,121,194. The business’s fifty day moving average is $730.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $656.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $318.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.98, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares in the company, valued at $4,593,803.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares in the company, valued at $4,593,803.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,182 shares of company stock worth $9,809,558 over the last three months. Company 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.