Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,150,000 shares, a decrease of 9.8% from the September 30th total of 6,820,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,737,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the third quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer's stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $7.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $879.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,404,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,924,970. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $892.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $842.45. The company has a market cap of $389.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $549.06 and a 52-week high of $923.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

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.