Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Park National Corp OH

Park National Corp OH lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,680 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,314 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $29,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 4.0%

NASDAQ COST traded up $40.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,048.78. 5,400,884 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,061,193. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $788.20 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $981.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $974.53. The company has a market cap of $465.33 billion, a PE ratio of 61.58, 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.