Emprise Bank Sells 134 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Emprise Bank lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,680 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.4% of Emprise Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Emprise Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 329.4% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.2 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $10.79 during trading on Monday, hitting $926.15. The company had a trading volume of 605,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,763,207. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $675.96 and a 1-year high of $1,008.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $947.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $899.20. The stock has a market cap of $411.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.