Trust Co. of Oklahoma Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Trust Co. of Oklahoma increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,841 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 2.3% of Trust Co. of Oklahoma’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Trust Co. of Oklahoma’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,539,245 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,336,198,000 after buying an additional 132,292 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,844,581,000 after buying an additional 85,398 shares in the last quarter. 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 Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $862.66 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $807.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $743.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $382.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.68 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $758.70.

Costco Wholesale 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.