Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Raises Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,861 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.2% of Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $668.50.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total transaction of $505,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $730.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,351,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,182,288. The business’s 50-day moving average is $722.34 and its 200 day moving average is $640.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $324.19 billion, a PE ratio of 47.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

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.