Divergent Planning LLC Buys New Shares in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Divergent Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,426 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,361,000. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.1% of Divergent Planning LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,068.15.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $936.11 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $414.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.41, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $948.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $971.70. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $867.34 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

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.