Ignite Planners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ignite Planners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,717 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 18 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $848.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $521.26 and a twelve month high of $873.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $790.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $734.25. The stock has a market cap of $376.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.55, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $752.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.