Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Sells $2,232,312.00 in Stock

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $914.00. 1,826,172 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,263,383. The company has a market cap of $405.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $871.71 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $937.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $967.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,095,000. BluePointe Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 46.8% during the first quarter. BluePointe Capital Management LLC now owns 765 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 32,571 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,805,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. BTIG Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,063.88.

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.