City State Bank Sells 41 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

City State Bank lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,447 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 41 shares during the quarter. City State Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. United Bank boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $220,948,000 after buying an additional 96,566 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 87.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,965,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.03% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $487.05. 3,959,291 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,002,677. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $492.96 and its 200-day moving average is $491.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $216.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $406.51 and a 52 week high of $612.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The retailer reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $55.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.61 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.66% and a net margin of 2.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.92 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.45%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $503.69, for a total value of $1,259,225.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,884 shares in the company, valued at $20,592,861.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $488.95, for a total value of $733,425.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,093 shares in the company, valued at $4,934,972.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.69, for a total value of $1,259,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 40,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,592,861.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,068 shares of company stock worth $2,992,156. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $490.00 to $450.00 in a report on Friday, December 9th. TheStreet lowered Costco Wholesale from an “a-” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Monday, March 6th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $555.00 in a report on Friday, December 9th. Cowen cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $650.00 to $600.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $545.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.16.

About Costco Wholesale

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Costco Wholesale Corp. engages in the operation of membership warehouses through wholly owned subsidiaries. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Canada, and Other International Operations. The company was founded by James D. Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman in 1983 and is headquartered in Issaquah, WA.