Chemung Canal Trust Co. Has $478,000 Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Chemung Canal Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 653 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Bamco Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 3,990 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,254,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 877 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $473,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 71.2% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 13,207 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,461,000 after buying an additional 5,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 4,349 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,457,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $849.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $801.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $739.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $524.63 and a 52 week high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 target price (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $756.85.

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.