Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Short Interest Update

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,490,000 shares, a growth of 8.3% from the October 31st total of 5,990,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,850,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,056,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $2.53 on Wednesday, hitting $984.68. 540,367 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,919,545. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $597.03 and a twelve month high of $988.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $436.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $910.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $875.27.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Loop Capital lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

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.