Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Lowered by VeraBank N.A.

VeraBank N.A. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,302 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20 shares during the quarter. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $29.87 on Friday, hitting $943.80. 3,277,090 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,929,356. The stock has a market capitalization of $418.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $562.01 and a 52 week high of $962.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $893.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $851.63.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. 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 research report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

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.