Rep. C. Scott Franklin Sells Off Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

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 $50,001 and $100,000 in Costco Wholesale stock on January 28th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “FIDELITY TRADITIONAL 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 $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) on 1/28/2025.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $5.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $901.19. 960,617 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,815,040. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $988.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $944.49. The company has a market capitalization of $400.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.96, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.

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.