Morling Financial Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 380 Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Morling Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 380 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $359,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was 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 owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% 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 $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of COST stock traded down $5.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $935.94. 487,873 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,207,136. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a market cap of $415.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $995.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $983.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine research 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale 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.