Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 57,241 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 25% compared to the average daily volume of 45,746 call options.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of COST traded down $19.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $996.41. 1,984,002 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,265,945. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $771.43 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $442.09 billion, a PE ratio of 58.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $958.05 and a 200-day moving average of $964.92.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

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.

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