Bath Savings Trust Co Sells 92 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bath Savings Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,729 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 92 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.0% of Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 329.4% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,816 shares of company stock valued at $6,981,347. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $0.44 on Tuesday, reaching $923.15. 821,223 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,533,372. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $944.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $897.06. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $654.03 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25. The company has a market cap of $409.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.