Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.3%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded up 0.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $907.62 and last traded at $903.34. 641,444 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 1,935,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $900.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note 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 report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $398.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $863.57 and a 200-day moving average of $809.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 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.