Webster Bank N. A. Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Webster Bank N. A. cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,783 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.1% of Webster Bank N. A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Argus increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $849.99. 2,131,691 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,840,321. The company has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $524.63 and a 52-week high of $873.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $801.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $739.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business 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 firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.