WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC Purchases Shares of 435 Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 435 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $412,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $236,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $3,095,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $241,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $935.48. 1,825,525 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,969,335. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $992.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $983.45. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $414.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,037.48.

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.