Washington Trust Bank Sells 1,496 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Washington Trust Bank cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,683 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,496 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.1% of Washington Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,700,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $909.26 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $987.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $944.60. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.62 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

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.