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 $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 stock has a market cap of $397.47 billion, a PE ratio of 52.58, a P/E/G 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $988.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $944.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $95,452,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.