Disciplined Investments LLC Takes $286,000 Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Disciplined Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 303 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $286,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Horizon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.2% during the first quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 298 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.0% during the first quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 495 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the first quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,635 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,438,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Constitution Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.2% during the first quarter. Constitution Capital LLC now owns 4,525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verum Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 25.0% during the first quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,014.94 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $993.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $979.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

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.