First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 1,347 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,769 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.8% of First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Wealth Management grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 2,847 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. DMC Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 2,020 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Madrona Financial Services LLC now owns 5,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,205,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 48.5% during the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,102 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norden Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2,221.2% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 41,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,384,000 after acquiring an additional 39,693 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $3.30 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $862.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 814,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,709,054. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $524.63 and a 52-week high of $873.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $810.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $744.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $382.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.45, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $758.70.

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.