Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) were up 1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $920.40 and last traded at $919.11. Approximately 427,561 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average daily volume of 1,059,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $909.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $406.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50 day moving average of $943.38 and a 200-day moving average of $896.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,816 shares of company stock valued at $6,981,347. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 1,777 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Peirce Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $332,000. 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.