Heartland Bank & Trust Co Sells 32 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Heartland Bank & Trust Co lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,198 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,186,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the second quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,718,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,430,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $3,095,000. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,325,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $935.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $951.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $972.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $414.62 billion, a PE ratio of 51.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.