Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.4% – What’s Next?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) fell 0.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $880.32 and last traded at $883.51. 306,092 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 1,919,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $886.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $390.59 billion, a PE ratio of 53.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $892.35 and its 200-day moving average is $842.45.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after buying an additional 1,238 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after buying an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $6,424,000. Finally, WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 328.4% during the 3rd quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.