Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Increased by Abacus Planning Group Inc.

Abacus Planning Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,139 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $878.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $389.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $872.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $819.85.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,174 shares of company stock worth $7,097,624 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $883.04.

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.