Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.3%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares were down 0.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $858.50 and last traded at $861.81. Approximately 246,354 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,983,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $864.82.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8 %

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $847.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $780.75. The company has a market cap of $385.96 billion, a PE ratio of 53.94, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Peterson Wealth Services acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $10,010,000. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,121 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,720,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 102,317 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $67,537,000 after buying an additional 3,583 shares in the last quarter. 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.