First Business Financial Services Inc. Acquires 328 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,508 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 328 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.4% of First Business Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. First Business Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32,571 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $30,805,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC now owns 765 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $3,095,000. Baer Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 76.6% during the 1st quarter. Baer Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,421 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Financial LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Apollon Financial LLC now owns 6,805 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,436,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. 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, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $2.54 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $953.91. The company had a trading volume of 2,276,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,066,825. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,001.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $982.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $423.04 billion, a PE ratio of 54.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's 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.