Javier Polit Sells 2,049 Shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total transaction of $1,776,913.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,320,773.08. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Javier Polit also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, December 30th, Javier Polit sold 558 shares of Costco Wholesale stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $862.89, for a total transaction of $481,492.62.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $862.34. 1,482,790 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,331,060. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $899.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $936.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market cap of $382.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The business had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $5,692,035,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358,859 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,364,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,328 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,697,000 after purchasing an additional 986,182 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Gordon Haskett dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $992.08.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.