OLD Second National Bank of Aurora Has $2.96 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,483 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 67 shares during the period. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on COST. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $1.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $716.77. 570,173 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,080,803. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $730.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $659.23. The firm has a market cap of $317.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,942 shares of company stock worth $7,602,943. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.