Bath Savings Trust Co Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bath Savings Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,821 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.9% of Bath Savings Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $873.59 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $875.41 and its 200 day moving average is $822.49. The company has a market cap of $387.29 billion, a PE ratio of 54.13, a P/E/G ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $883.04.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,174 shares of company stock worth $7,097,624 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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, 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.