First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Cuts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,440 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $61,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $916.77 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $867.34 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $406.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.34, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $953.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $971.03.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

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.