TPG Financial Advisors LLC Sells 151 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

TPG Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 34.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 284 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. TPG Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Viewpoint Investment Partners Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $1,645,000. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 653 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $618,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 17,264 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,328,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,961 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $139,936,000 after acquiring an additional 10,639 shares during the period. Finally, Destiny Capital Corp CO increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Destiny Capital Corp CO now owns 1,141 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of COST opened at $990.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $439.14 billion, a PE ratio of 58.15, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,000.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $980.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.