Colonial Trust Co SC Has $8.31 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Colonial Trust Co SC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,073 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.2% of Colonial Trust Co SC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Colonial Trust Co SC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,010.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $448.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $755.57 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $960.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $961.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

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.

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