Ledyard National Bank Sells 173 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Ledyard National Bank lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,998 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $95,452,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,647 shares of company stock valued at $10,530,961. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $1,001.92 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $444.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $1,003.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $981.25.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.50%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.