Tempus Wealth Planning LLC Acquires 181 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Tempus Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,651 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.2% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 356 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.1% during the first quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 755 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $893.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $395.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $540.23 and a 12-month high of $923.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $890.30 and a 200-day moving average of $836.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be given 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 is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.