Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Russell D. Miller Sells 785 Shares

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of COST opened at $711.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $659.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 26.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

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.