LifeSteps Financial Inc. Has $952,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

LifeSteps Financial Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 20.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,443 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. LifeSteps Financial Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 6,367 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,311,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Hill Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. Hill Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 682 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 240 shares during the period. Patron Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,270 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,479,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 26,815 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,700,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares during the period. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $220,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total value of $927,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,922 shares in the company, valued at $9,220,540.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total transaction of $1,700,825.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,750.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total value of $927,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,922 shares in the company, valued at $9,220,540.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $732.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,713,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,605,208. The firm has a market cap of $324.92 billion, a PE ratio of 47.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $725.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $643.24. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $668.50.

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.