Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Lifted by Sterling Financial Planning Inc.

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 726 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of COST opened at $986.27 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,005.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $981.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. 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 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,034.79.

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.