Life Planning Partners Inc Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Life Planning Partners Inc acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 171,342 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $157,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $929.66 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $988.07 and a 200 day moving average of $946.54. The company has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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.