Ledyard National Bank Decreases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ledyard National Bank trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,947 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, 25 LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on COST shares. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $620.00 to $605.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 2nd. DA Davidson raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $478.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $612.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $586.43.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, VP Patrick J. Callans sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $553.76, for a total transaction of $1,384,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 67,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,619,131.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.75, for a total transaction of $2,509,875.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,015,333.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Patrick J. Callans sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $553.76, for a total value of $1,384,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 67,934 shares in the company, valued at $37,619,131.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,797,118. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $17.98 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $578.80. 932,305 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,797,525. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $447.90 and a twelve month high of $599.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $562.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $541.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.07. The company has a market cap of $256.26 billion, a PE ratio of 42.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.30 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.79 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $78.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.72 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.10% and a net margin of 2.60%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.81%.

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.