Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by WASHINGTON TRUST Co

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 28,280 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 325 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.0% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $27,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $3.63 during trading on Thursday, reaching $917.63. The company had a trading volume of 157,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,253,676. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $871.71 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $936.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $967.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.67 billion, a PE ratio of 50.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 10,320 shares of company stock worth $9,605,487 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Argus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,063.88.

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.