Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.2%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price traded down 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $902.50 and last traded at $905.61. 267,237 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,940,149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $907.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $780.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $395.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.30, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $862.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $809.24.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.