1,397 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Bought by Heritage Trust Co

Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 1,397 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,280,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,715,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,404,571,000 after buying an additional 43,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $963.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $982.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $949.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $702.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.

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.