Traders Sell Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) on Strength (NASDAQ:COST)

Traders sold shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) on strength during trading hours on Monday. $223.11 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $267.00 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $43.89 million out of the stock. Of all equities tracked, Costco Wholesale Corporation had the 0th highest net out-flow for the day. Costco Wholesale Corporation traded up $5.62 for the day and closed at $158.51

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $173.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale Corporation and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. BidaskClub raised Costco Wholesale Corporation from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank AG set a $172.00 target price on Costco Wholesale Corporation and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $200.00 target price on Costco Wholesale Corporation and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Costco Wholesale Corporation has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.11.

The firm has a market capitalization of $69.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $155.36 and its 200-day moving average is $167.42. Costco Wholesale Corporation also was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders acquired 6,031 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 231% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,822 put options.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 25th. The retailer reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale Corporation had a net margin of 2.06% and a return on equity of 20.45%. The firm had revenue of $28.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post $5.77 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 16th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale Corporation’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Costco Wholesale Corporation’s payout ratio is 34.66%.

In related news, Director John W. Meisenbach sold 1,000 shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.25, for a total transaction of $159,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $792,109.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP James P. Murphy sold 5,000 shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.30, for a total transaction of $906,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 48,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,855,598.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,677,430. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Delta Asset Management LLC TN boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 11.6% in the second quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation during the second quarter valued at $101,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation during the second quarter valued at $107,000. Mercer Capital Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 3.5% in the second quarter. Mercer Capital Advisers Inc. now owns 687 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation by 16.7% in the first quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth LLC now owns 700 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 73.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Corporation Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation is engaged in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Spain, and through its subsidiaries in Taiwan and Korea. As of August 28, 2016, the Company operated 715 warehouses across the world.