Whittier Trust Co. Sells 331 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Whittier Trust Co. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,079 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 331 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.8% of Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $56,821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,501 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,789,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,547 shares of company stock worth $13,396,790. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.7%

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $16.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $951.37. 2,943,630 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,065,970. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.96, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1,001.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $982.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio 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.