CoreFirst Bank & Trust Acquires Shares of 645 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 645 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $591,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.8 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $926.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $410.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.38, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $987.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $945.73.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.