Plimoth Trust Co. LLC Sells 103 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Plimoth Trust Co. LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 768 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 103 shares during the quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $877.56. 1,439,810 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,940,082. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $850.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $786.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $530.56 and a 52-week high of $896.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $389.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.37, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

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.