Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Montecito Bank & Trust

Montecito Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,965 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.3% of Montecito Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 price target (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $752.96.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $862.44 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $785.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $729.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $382.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $516.54 and a 1 year high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.