Private Trust Co. NA Buys 269 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,478 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.5% of Private Trust Co. NA's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Private Trust Co. NA's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $3.91 on Friday, reaching $986.27. 1,101,351 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,074,110. The company has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $1,005.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $981.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.