Security National Bank Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Security National Bank lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 638.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,085 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,261 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.1% of Security National Bank's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Security National Bank's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after acquiring an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $2.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $985.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,128,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,070,142. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $436.89 billion, a PE ratio of 55.88, a PEG ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,004.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $981.26. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business'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 now owns 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Corporate 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.