First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,490 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 831 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $210,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 328.3% during the first quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 1,713 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,255,000 after buying an additional 1,313 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 37,398 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $27,398,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bennett Selby Investments LP increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.9% in the 1st quarter. Bennett Selby Investments LP now owns 815 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $889.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $889.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $832.21. The firm has a market cap of $394.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.69, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $890.07.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.