Greenfield Savings Bank Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Greenfield Savings Bank reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,342 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 26 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.2% of Greenfield Savings Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Greenfield Savings Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $873.59 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $875.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $822.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $387.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $883.04.

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.