Arlington Trust Co LLC Sells 31 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Arlington Trust Co LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,665 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 31 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.5% of Arlington Trust Co LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Arlington Trust Co LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $982.36 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $1,004.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.72, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

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.