Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR Sells 470 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,693 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 470 shares during the period. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $913.86 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $937.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $967.78. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $871.71 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.00 billion, a PE ratio of 50.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,063.88.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.