Citizens Business Bank Sells 50 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Citizens Business Bank cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 623 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Citizens Business Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $931.89.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $993.40 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $618.76 and a fifty-two week high of $997.71. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $917.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $880.63. The stock has a market cap of $440.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.