FineMark National Bank & Trust Lowers Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

FineMark National Bank & Trust cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,331 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 120 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth 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 period. South Dakota Investment Council lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 110.0% during the first quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 210 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.5% in the first quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 3,149 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,978,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 4,352 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,348,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.9%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $895.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $396.68 billion, a PE ratio of 49.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $932.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $964.95. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $871.71 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,025.07.

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.