First PREMIER Bank Sells 23 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First PREMIER Bank lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 345 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. First PREMIER Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Baker Boyer National Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.0% during the first quarter. Baker Boyer National Bank now owns 2,406 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 105.8% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 107 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Finally, Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,631 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $752.96.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $848.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $521.26 and a 52-week high of $873.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $790.73 and a 200-day moving average of $734.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $376.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.