Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,045 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.9% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 961.7% during the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 23,146 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 52.8% in the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 1,744 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after purchasing an additional 603 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,727 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $915.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $953.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $971.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a PE ratio of 50.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,067.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.