325 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Purchased by Capasso Planning Partners LLC

Capasso Planning Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 325 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 888.9% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $6.78 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $718.59. 1,386,434 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,139,693. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $728.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $651.99. The company has a market cap of $318.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.00, a PEG ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.81 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,182 shares of company stock valued at $9,809,558. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Loop Capital raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a report on Friday, January 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $673.36.

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.