Greenleaf Trust Purchases 1,527 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,319 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4%

COST traded down $3.75 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $982.09. 2,911,606 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,076,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,005.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $981.68. The firm has a market cap of $435.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.71, a P/E/G ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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