Greenfield Savings Bank Reduces Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Greenfield Savings Bank cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,413 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 30 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.1% of Greenfield Savings Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Greenfield Savings Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,966,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $848.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $376.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.56, a PEG ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $788.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $730.83. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $519.34 and a 52 week high of $873.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 price objective (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $752.96.

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.