Planned Solutions Inc. Sells 35 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Planned Solutions Inc. decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 489 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 35 shares during the period. Planned Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,056.85 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $986.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $977.03. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.06, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last three months. Company 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.