First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,462 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,591 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,014.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $450.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company's fifty day moving average price is $993.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $979.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

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.

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