Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0.8% – Here’s Why

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares traded up 0.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $899.81 and last traded at $902.36. 984,594 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average session volume of 1,815,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $895.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $403.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $987.55 and its 200-day moving average is $945.06.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,652 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,772,000 after purchasing an additional 2,156 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 791 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 477 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.