Park National Corp OH Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Park National Corp OH reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,458 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,660 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $27,888,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Financial Bank Trust Division increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 16.6% in the third quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 352 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 111.9% during the 3rd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 231 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $205,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,250,000. Sage Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $935,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,179 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,402,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $878.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.48 billion, a PE ratio of 54.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $872.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $819.85. 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 earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,174 shares of company stock valued at $7,097,624 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $883.04.

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.