Defined Financial Planning LLC Acquires 92 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Defined Financial Planning LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 31.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 388 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Defined Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $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 purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ COST opened at $996.78 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $442.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.53, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month 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’s 50 day moving average price is $996.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $980.41.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 in the last three months. 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.