Amalgamated Bank Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Amalgamated Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,894 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,741 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.8% of Amalgamated Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $102,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $912.42 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $941.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.27. The firm has a market cap of $404.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.11, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

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.