First United Bank & Trust Sells 29 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First United Bank & Trust cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,562 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 29 shares during the period. First United Bank & Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 329.4% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $947.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $420.70 billion, a PE ratio of 55.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $950.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $902.31. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $675.96 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.