289 Shares in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Acquired by Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV

Key Points

• Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV purchased 289 shares of Costco, valued at approximately $273,000, marking the firm's new position in the retailer during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds increased their holdings in Costco, resulting in institutional investors owning 68.48% of the company's stock.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, reflecting a 0.6% dividend yield with an upcoming payment date on August 15th.

Planning Alternatives Ltd. ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 289 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.4% in the first quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,040.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $8.89 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $977.45. 1,889,814 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,222,700. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $820.45 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $979.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $984.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.48 billion, a PE ratio of 55.44, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.