Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,918 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,331 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $2,901,040,000 after purchasing an additional 210,586 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,844,581,000 after buying an additional 85,398 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,689,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,519,468,000 after buying an additional 24,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,580,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,457,964,000 after acquiring an additional 28,259 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $11.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $743.90. 2,323,300 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. The company has a market cap of $329.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $671.71. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Roth Mkm boosted 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, April 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

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.