Costco Wholesale Co. Shares Climb 0% Following Same-Store Sales Report (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale’s (NASDAQ:COST) same store sales increased by 10% in the month of September. Costco Wholesale’s shares climbed by 0% in the first full-day of trading following the report.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $883.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $886.52 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83. 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 firm has a market cap of $393.03 billion, a PE ratio of 54.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $871.45 and a 200-day moving average of $818.37.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,510,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 9,915 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,544,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 52,134 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,413,000 after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the period. Finally, Carmignac Gestion boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 175.5% during the fourth quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 11,750 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,760,000 after purchasing an additional 7,485 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.