Hills Bank & Trust Co Boosts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,829 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $903.92 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $401.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.08, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $989.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $944.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by 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.