Physicians Financial Services Inc. Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Key Points

• Physicians Financial Services Inc. has increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 8.1%, now owning 6,362 shares valued at approximately $6 million, making it the 13th largest position in their portfolio.
• Insider trading activity revealed that Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares, and EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares, indicating a collective sale of nearly $2.6 million over the past month.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Costco, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," and price targets ranging from $975 to $1,225, reflecting varied expectations for future stock performance.

Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,362 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 475 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.0% of Physicians Financial Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Physicians Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the first quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,163,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. 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 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $935.48 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $414.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $992.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $984.23. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.

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