Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Gary Millerchip Sells 1,100 Shares

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $9.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $929.66. The company had a trading volume of 2,099,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,941,143. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $988.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $946.86.

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

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Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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.