Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Has $2.66 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,900 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,657,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,025.30 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $454.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.21, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $788.20 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $968.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $970.34.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

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.