Independence Bank of Kentucky Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,130 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $0.63 on Friday, hitting $849.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,131,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,840,321. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $801.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $739.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a PEG 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Argus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $756.85.

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.