Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.2% on Insider Selling

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) was down 0.2% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $873.43 and last traded at $876.94. Approximately 216,531 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,956,878 shares. The stock had previously closed at $878.53.

Specifically, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $875.41 and a 200 day moving average of $821.29. The company has a market capitalization of $391.51 billion, a PE ratio of 54.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.30% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.