Montecito Bank & Trust Invests $8.54 Million in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Montecito Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,227 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,541,000. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.3% of Montecito Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $862.65 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $382.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.21, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $913.08 and a 200-day moving average of $947.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.04. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,033.00 to $926.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $991.39.

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.