First Western Trust Bank Has $13.44 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Western Trust Bank raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,960 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 902 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.7% of First Western Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, 25 LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $566.09, for a total value of $1,132,180.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,385,479.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.12, for a total value of $1,713,360.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,238,852.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $566.09, for a total value of $1,132,180.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,385,479.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,265 shares of company stock worth $10,797,118. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $620.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $600.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, October 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $482.00 to $502.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $586.43.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $2.70 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $579.85. 544,044 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,801,316. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $543.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $447.90 and a one year high of $599.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.79 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.10% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $78.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.72 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 3rd were given a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.81%.

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.