Greenleaf Trust Buys 1,527 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,319 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,527 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were 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 $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $970.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,939,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,844. 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 stock has a market cap of $430.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,004.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $981.82. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's 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.