Simplicity Wealth LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 383.4% during the second quarter, owning 17,485 shares valued at approximately $17.3 million.
• Investment analysts maintain a generally positive outlook on Costco, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,067.19.
• Costco reported quarterly earnings of $5.87 per share, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter.

Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 383.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,485 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 13,868 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.7% of Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $166,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 700 shares of the retailer's stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, Gemmer Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 907 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

COST opened at $915.38 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $405.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $953.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $972.15. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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