Security National Bank Has $730,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Security National Bank lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 824 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the quarter. Security National Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $730,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $510,000. Hoffman Alan N Investment Management boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the third quarter. Hoffman Alan N Investment Management now owns 11,789 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,451,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 47.9% in the third quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Parisi Gray Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 5,900 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,231,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 6,449 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,717,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $883.04.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,174 shares of company stock worth $7,097,624 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $873.59 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $875.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $822.49. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The company has a market capitalization of $387.29 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 quarterly 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 business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.