St. Louis Trust Co Invests $277,000 in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

St. Louis Trust Co acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 293 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMG National Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 4,818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,557,000 after buying an additional 369 shares during the period. Washburn Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the first quarter. Washburn Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,002,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 71,164 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $67,306,000 after purchasing an additional 1,469 shares during the period. FLC Capital Advisors grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.7% during the first quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 1,460 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, JMG Financial Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm'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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. 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. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded down $2.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $950.95. 2,110,863 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,067,454. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $421.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.94, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $998.91 and a 200-day moving average of $983.13.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

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.