Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 1.5% on Insider Selling

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) fell 1.5% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $910.30 and last traded at $910.34. Approximately 2,206,697 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 0% from the average daily volume of 2,202,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $924.59.

Specifically, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total transaction of $2,015,046.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,134 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,244.62. This trade represents a 23.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $781.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 25th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,046.27.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $933.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $965.29. The company has a market capitalization of $405.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.07, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%.The company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.87 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 214,194 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $200,372,000 after buying an additional 13,795 shares during the period. Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. AD acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $9,300,000. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 158,416 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $148,193,000 after acquiring an additional 6,200 shares during the period. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 68,762 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $64,325,000 after acquiring an additional 5,656 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $1,413,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells a broad selection of merchandise, including groceries, fresh foods, beverages, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal products. It also offers services such as gasoline, pharmacies, optical departments, hearing-aid centers, food courts, travel services, and business delivery in selected markets.

Costco markets many products under its private-label Kirkland Signature brand and sells merchandise through warehouse locations and e-commerce platforms.