Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0% – Still a Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares rose 0% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $874.60 and last traded at $874.34. Approximately 305,025 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,916,643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $874.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $892.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $842.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.81, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly 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 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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 $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. 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 worth $11,238,510 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.