Inspire Trust Co. N.A. Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 10.3% during the first quarter, owning 3,200 shares valued at approximately $3.03 million.
• Recent insider transactions include EVP Yoram Rubanenko selling 4,000 shares at an average price of $974.96, reducing his ownership by 40.92%.
• Costco's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $4.28, beating analysts' estimates, with a revenue increase of 8.0% year-over-year.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. raised its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,200 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bosun Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,163,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Rooted Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 441 shares of the retailer's stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded down $3.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $972.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,637,627 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,147,194. The company's 50 day moving average is $972.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $986.08. The stock has a market cap of $431.08 billion, a PE ratio of 55.14, a P/E/G ratio of 6.04 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.