Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Trust Co of Kansas’ 4th Largest Position

Trust Co of Kansas cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,625 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 228 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 5.3% of Trust Co of Kansas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Trust Co of Kansas’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $656,274,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $7.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $722.69. The stock had a trading volume of 759,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,073,170. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $730.16 and a 200 day moving average of $662.88. The firm has a market cap of $320.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.68%.

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.