Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by AMG National Trust Bank

AMG National Trust Bank lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,792 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 26 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $920.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $407.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.53, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $940.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $970.92.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.15 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale 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.