Trajan Wealth LLC Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Trajan Wealth LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,043 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,266 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.7% of Trajan Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Trajan Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $27,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.3 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $20.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $888.05. 1,664,873 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,964,828. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $852.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $791.51. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $534.34 and a 12-month high of $918.93. The firm has a market cap of $393.70 billion, a PE ratio of 55.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. TD Cowen upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is 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.