Ignite Planners LLC Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,352 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 318 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.9% of Ignite Planners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Ignite Planners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 4,813 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,410,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,501 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,789,000 after buying an additional 455 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $5.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $936.15. 1,202,460 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,212,418. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $995.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $983.27. The company has a market capitalization of $415.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.13, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.