Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 1.8% – Still a Buy?

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price rose 1.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $929.19 and last traded at $928.04. Approximately 3,091,935 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 37% from the average daily volume of 2,254,684 shares. The stock had previously closed at $911.45.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,065.08.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $939.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $970.42. The company has a market cap of $411.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 546 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the third quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 1,059 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the third quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,964,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,187 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $302,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.