Javier Polit Sells 558 Shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Javier Polit sold 558 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $862.89, for a total value of $481,492.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,792,849.10. The trade was a 5.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

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

• On Monday, December 29th, Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of Costco Wholesale stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total value of $1,776,913.29.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4%

COST stock traded down $3.31 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $862.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,482,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,331,060. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $899.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $936.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $382.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.04 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $992.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Graney & King LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 173 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Seneschal Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Seneschal Advisors LLC now owns 3,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,110,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. PCG Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 536 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the third quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Somerset Group LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,906,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.