Bremer Bank National Association Has $7.76 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bremer Bank National Association lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,206 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.4% of Bremer Bank National Association’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Bremer Bank National Association’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,056.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $986.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $977.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $468.91 billion, a PE ratio of 62.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

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.