Norway Savings Bank Buys 357 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Norway Savings Bank lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,537 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.7% of Norway Savings Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Norway Savings Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parcion Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 30.8% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.95 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $893.71. The stock had a trading volume of 569,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,946,874. The stock has a market capitalization of $396.21 billion, a PE ratio of 55.54, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $884.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $829.12.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,824 shares of company stock worth $4,260,493 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $886.74.

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.