Trust Co of the South Buys 75 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Trust Co of the South increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 601 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Trust Co of the South’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $95,452,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5%

COST opened at $1,013.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $449.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $788.20 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $979.82 and a 200 day moving average of $974.01.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,028.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.