Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.1% on Insider Selling

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) traded down 1.1% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $930.15 and last traded at $932.14. 1,634,958 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 2,249,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $942.05.

Specifically, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $413.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day moving average is $945.23 and its 200 day moving average is $972.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.