Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Pierre Riel Sells 2,000 Shares

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $8.76 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1,006.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,694,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,686. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $993.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $979.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.