Simplicity Wealth LLC Acquires 2,591 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 252.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,617 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,591 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. 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 for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,006.18 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $994.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $980.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm 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 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,000 shares of company stock worth $7,816,895 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.