Hilltop National Bank Grows Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,328 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 30 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.9% of Hilltop National Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after acquiring an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $927.12. 1,042,278 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,668,274. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $946.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $897.99. The firm has a market cap of $411.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.44, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $667.64 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

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.