American Trust Has $6.74 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

American Trust lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,352 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 456 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Grassi Investment Management grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,441,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $485,000. Finally, Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,008.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $973.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $972.57. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $788.20 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

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.