Mechanics Bank Trust Department Sells 1,693 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Mechanics Bank Trust Department has reduced its stake in Costco by 9.1%, maintaining 16,998 shares and marking it as their 7th largest holding.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in Costco during the fourth quarter, with Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG notably raising their stake by 45.0%.
• Costco's stock has been rated as a Moderate Buy by analysts, with an average target price of $1,056.67, reflecting a series of adjustments from various investment firms.

Mechanics Bank Trust Department lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,998 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,693 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.4% of Mechanics Bank Trust Department's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Mechanics Bank Trust Department's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,644,711 shares of the retailer's stock worth $40,332,515,000 after acquiring an additional 443,101 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,907,670 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,695,796,000 after purchasing an additional 191,985 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $3,461,159,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,056.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of COST stock traded down $7.90 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $943.26. 2,781,931 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,990,076. The stock has a market cap of $418.32 billion, a PE ratio of 53.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $957.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

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.