Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Lowered by Trust Co. of Oklahoma

Trust Co. of Oklahoma lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,701 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.6% of Trust Co. of Oklahoma’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Trust Co. of Oklahoma’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after purchasing an additional 552,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after purchasing an additional 485,051 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded down $3.86 during trading on Thursday, hitting $877.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,433,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,971,297. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $530.56 and a twelve month high of $896.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $850.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $786.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.65, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.