Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.7% After Insider Selling

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.7% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $926.00 and last traded at $932.24. Approximately 513,400 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 1,820,574 shares. The stock had previously closed at $938.75.

Specifically, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business's 50 day moving average is $988.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $946.54.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $95,452,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer's stock worth $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 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.