Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Richard A. Galanti Sells 1,416 Shares

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $893.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $395.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $891.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $836.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the third quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

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.