Insider Selling: Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Sells 900 Shares of Stock

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $4.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $930.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,621,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,339. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $987.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $945.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on COST. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.