Consolidated Planning Corp Has $2.55 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Consolidated Planning Corp lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,862 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Morton Capital Management LLC CA grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $7.32 on Friday, reaching $729.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,524,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $666.04. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The company has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction 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 approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.