Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.4%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares were down 0.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $841.51 and last traded at $844.74. Approximately 369,451 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,971,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $848.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $793.52 and a 200 day moving average of $735.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.27 billion, a PE ratio of 53.01, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.