OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Sells 1,259 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 31.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,776 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,259 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $974.90 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,002.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.11. The company has a market capitalization of $432.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 now owns 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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