Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.2%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) was down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $873.19 and last traded at $875.95. Approximately 497,200 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,962,384 shares. The stock had previously closed at $886.52.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5 %

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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $871.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $818.37. The stock has a market cap of $391.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.