Raymond James Trust N.A. Has $19.60 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,058 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $740,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 27,902 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,627 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $879.21. 1,305,753 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. 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 $389.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $851.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $789.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $824.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.