Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Buys 32 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,233 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. High Net Worth Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after buying an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 172,597 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $85,758,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 105,822 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $52,580,000 after buying an additional 8,371 shares during the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 378 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,281 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,127,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 66.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $595.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $475.00 to $510.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $545.00 to $570.00 in a research note on Friday, June 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $566.63.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $561.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $549.66 and a 200-day moving average of $518.26. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $447.90 and a 1-year high of $571.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $248.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.22%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total value of $834,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,104,357. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.