Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.1% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price rose 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $890.98 and last traded at $887.59. Approximately 197,459 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 1,932,778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $886.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $891.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $836.93. The firm has a market cap of $398.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.71, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued 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 is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,220 shares of company stock worth $9,971,643 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 45.4% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 605 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 154.4% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 6,285 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,605,000 after acquiring an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 21,861 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,016,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 10,110 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 116,942 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $85,675,000 after purchasing an additional 9,344 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.