Elser Financial Planning Inc Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Elser Financial Planning Inc has purchased 360 shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation, valued at approximately $348,000, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Costco recently reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating estimates, with a net margin of 2.94% and a year-over-year revenue increase of 8.1%.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 68.48% of stock owned by institutions and hedge funds, highlighting significant investor interest in Costco.

Elser Financial Planning Inc bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 360 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in 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 stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in 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. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 5,089 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,813,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 360 shares of the retailer's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 10,164 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,613,000 after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,072.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $406.61 billion, a PE ratio of 50.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.16 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $955.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.72.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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