Teresa Jones Sells 600 Shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock

Key Points

• Teresa Jones, EVP of Costco Wholesale, sold 600 shares at an average price of $992.05, reducing her ownership by 20.26% to 2,362 shares.
• Costco's stock price decreased by 1.1% to $958.54, with trading volumes surpassing average figures, indicating heightened activity.
• The company recently declared a $1.30 quarterly dividend, reflecting a payout ratio of 29.50%, and a yield of 0.5%.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) EVP Teresa Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of COST traded down $11.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $958.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,132,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,129,634. The company's 50-day moving average is $970.48 and its 200-day moving average is $985.89. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.15, a PEG ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.