Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Ignite Planners LLC

Ignite Planners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,333 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 19 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,160,000 after buying an additional 966 shares during the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 505 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $478,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 48,086 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $45,479,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $914.80 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $405.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $952.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.37. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $867.34 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Daiwa Capital Markets reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale 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.