Passumpsic Savings Bank Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Passumpsic Savings Bank reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,387 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 18 shares during the period. Passumpsic Savings Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the second quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,236 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,901,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 25.0% in the second quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc. now owns 500 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $425,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,138 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, James J. Burns & Company LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $471,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of COST opened at $996.00 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $623.21 and a 52-week high of $997.71. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $917.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $880.63. The stock has a market cap of $441.30 billion, a PE ratio of 59.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $931.89.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.