Independence Bank of Kentucky Has $1.28 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 33.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,504 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optas LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. SNS Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the second quarter. SNS Financial Group LLC now owns 1,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Levy Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.3% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,007 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,256,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter. Yeomans Consulting Group Inc. now owns 549 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $879.21. 1,305,753 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. The stock has a market cap of $389.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.47, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $851.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $788.53. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $530.56 and a 12 month high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS 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 return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. 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%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was 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 owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

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.