Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Simplicity Wealth LLC

Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 252.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,617 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,591 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.2% in the first quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,408,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.1% during the first quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 6,554 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,199,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,093,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,270 shares of the retailer's stock worth $11,605,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of COST stock traded up $1.09 on Tuesday, hitting $1,007.27. 2,251,265 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,057,473. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $994.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $980.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.70 billion, a PE ratio of 59.15, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.