Eastern Bank lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,201 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Eastern Bank's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,997,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale
In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have commented on COST. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial raised 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 note on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on COST
Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8%
Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $7.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $927.51. 1,682,635 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,941,458. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $986.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $983.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $411.33 billion, a PE ratio of 52.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.23.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.
Costco Wholesale Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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