Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Camden National Bank

Camden National Bank reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,196 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 398 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.5% of Camden National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,616 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,479,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,718,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,799 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,640,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after buying an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,430,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value 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 approximately $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of COST stock opened at $899.01 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $927.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $963.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $398.42 billion, a PE ratio of 49.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

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.