First PREMIER Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First PREMIER Bank lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 333 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12 shares during the quarter. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 582.2% during the 4th quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 1,378 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.4% during the 4th quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 46,183 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,590,000 after purchasing an additional 12,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballast Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballast Advisors LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $14.64 on Thursday, reaching $877.35. 1,921,167 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,990,293. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $388.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $847.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $780.75. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $530.56 and a 1-year high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

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.