Farmers Trust Co. Sells 22 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Farmers Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 273 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 22 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Riverview Trust Co boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 998 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $848,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the second quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 4,490 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,816,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the second quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 7,717 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,560,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,481 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,809,000 after purchasing an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Falcon Wealth Planning lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning now owns 1,951 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

COST traded down $1.54 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $863.28. 880,024 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,987,992. The stock has a market cap of $382.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $846.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $779.49. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $530.56 and a twelve month high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale 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.