Northwest Bank & Trust Co Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,829 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,867,000. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.7% of Northwest Bank & Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $845.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $751.85.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1 %

COST stock traded up $9.71 on Friday, hitting $855.67. 1,395,485 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,735,517. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $516.54 and a 12-month high of $856.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $774.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $722.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $379.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.