CNB Bank Acquires 35 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

CNB Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,259 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the quarter. CNB Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $220,948,000 after purchasing an additional 96,566 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 87.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,965,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,727 shares of company stock valued at $8,170,388 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

COST opened at $709.51 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $661.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.