Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,051 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 649 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,685 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,485,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the first quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc. now owns 726 shares of the retailer's stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.0% in the first quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 877 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $830,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,106 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,558,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 9,712 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,185,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.91 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $986.27. 1,101,351 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,297. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1,005.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $981.08. The company has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.14 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.