Webster Bank N. A. Sells 356 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Webster Bank N. A. trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,783 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.1% of Webster Bank N. A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $849.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,131,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,840,321. 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 $376.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $524.63 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $801.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $739.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

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.