First Western Trust Bank Sells 957 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Western Trust Bank lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,009 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 957 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.5% of First Western Trust Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 target price (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $907.07 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $572.24 and a one year high of $962.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $897.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $859.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.74, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale 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.