Trust Co of Kansas Sells 3,905 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Trust Co of Kansas lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 91.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 360 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,905 shares during the quarter. Trust Co of Kansas' holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $236,000. AMJ Financial Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,654,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $2.23 on Friday, hitting $985.14. The stock had a trading volume of 2,128,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,406. The company has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $1,004.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.