Citizens & Northern Corp Has $4.54 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Citizens & Northern Corp reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 17.3%, holding approximately $4.54 million in stock as of the latest SEC filing.
• Recent analyst reports provide mixed ratings on Costco, with target prices ranging from $907.00 to $1,225.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, set to be paid on November 14th, representing an annual yield of 0.6%.

Citizens & Northern Corp lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,581 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 960 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.2% of Citizens & Northern Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Citizens & Northern Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,535,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Corps Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $119,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,638 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,499,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Aspect Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viewpoint Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,543,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on 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. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,068.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1%

COST opened at $937.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $415.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $947.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.46.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. 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.

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