Zions Bancorporation N.A. Sells 259 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,241 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 1,408 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 44.4% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 10,902 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,987,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 15,843 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,607,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Towercrest Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $257,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.1 %

COST stock opened at $923.89 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $896.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $855.99. The company has a market capitalization of $409.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $572.24 and a 12 month high of $962.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 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.