Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Has $638,000 Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 28.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 871 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $638,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’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 value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $859.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $804.55 and its 200 day moving average is $742.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.24, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $524.63 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Argus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $758.70.

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.