Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 1.3% – Time to Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price dropped 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $896.84 and last traded at $904.44. Approximately 614,085 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 1,808,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $916.61.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $399.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $989.68 and its 200 day moving average is $945.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.