First County Bank CT Cuts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First County Bank CT decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,864 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.1% of First County Bank CT’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $901.44 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $399.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $869.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $814.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.01 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, June 25th. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. 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. Truist Financial lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $861.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.