Rep. C. Scott Franklin Sells Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock

Representative C. Scott Franklin (R-Florida) recently sold shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST). In a filing disclosed on March 18th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Costco Wholesale stock on January 28th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FIDELITY ROTH IRA” account.

Representative C. Scott Franklin also recently made the following trade(s):

• Purchased $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) on 2/26/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) on 2/26/2025.
• Purchased $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) on 2/18/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) on 2/18/2025.
• Sold $1,000,001 – $5,000,000 in shares of The Baldwin Insurance Group (NASDAQ:BWIN) on 2/7/2025.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of The Baldwin Insurance Group (NASDAQ:BWIN) on 2/6/2025.
• Sold $50,001 – $100,000 in shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) on 1/28/2025.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $895.40 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $988.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $944.49. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $397.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.58, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the period. United Bank lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 55,041 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $48,795,000 after buying an additional 921 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 3,752 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,326,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. UBS Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

About Representative Franklin

Scott Franklin (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Florida’s 18th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Franklin (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Florida’s 18th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Scott Franklin was born in Thomaston, Georgia. Franklin graduated from Lakeland High School. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1986 to 2000 and the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2000 to 2012.

Franklin earned a B.S. from the United States Naval Academy in 1986 and an M.B.A. from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1994. Franklin’s career experience includes owning an insurance agency and working as a naval aviator with the U.S. Navy.

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.