Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 914 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 174 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,727 shares of company stock valued at $8,170,388 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of COST traded down $7.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $704.24. The stock had a trading volume of 614,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,077,400. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $659.59. The firm has a market cap of $312.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

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.