Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Boosted by Trajan Wealth LLC

Trajan Wealth LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,225 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.1% of Trajan Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Trajan Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $38,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Core Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.0% in the first quarter. Core Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,828 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,674,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.7% in the first quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 64,679 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $61,172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,280 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the first quarter. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC now owns 2,760 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,610,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.5% during the first quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 9,940 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,403,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 104.9% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 78,276 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $74,032,000 after buying an additional 40,068 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,531 shares in the company, valued at $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $988.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $976.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $985.77. The company has a market cap of $438.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $852.40 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business 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 posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

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.