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 Down 1.0 %

COST opened at $895.40 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $988.11 and a 200-day moving average of $944.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $397.47 billion, a PE ratio of 52.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.

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.