Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 352 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

COST opened at $878.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $872.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $819.85.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 2.90%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $883.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,097,624. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.