Zions Bancorporation N.A. Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,348 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $930.26 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $412.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $987.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $946.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.