Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.8% – Time to Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded down 0.8% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $954.75 and last traded at $955.84. 403,846 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,921,981 shares. The stock had previously closed at $964.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $905.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $869.42. The firm has a market cap of $426.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew 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 valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the period. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the period. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.