Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP James C. Klauer Sells 4,000 Shares

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $36.73 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $957.77. 2,834,697 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,019,438. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $975.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $953.37. The company has a market cap of $424.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $706.17 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,088,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.