Baker Boyer National Bank Sells 444 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Baker Boyer National Bank reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,791 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 444 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.6% of Baker Boyer National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Baker Boyer National Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ COST opened at $986.27 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,005.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.08. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,034.79.

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.