Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price was up 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $898.28 and last traded at $890.87. Approximately 517,822 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,913,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $890.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $891.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $848.69. The firm has a market cap of $398.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.