Lodestone Wealth Management LLC Has $1.56 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Lodestone Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,654 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13 shares during the quarter. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of COST opened at $982.36 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $435.66 billion, a PE ratio of 55.72, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $1,004.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.10.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 currently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.