Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.9%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price dropped 0.9% on Monday . The company traded as low as $726.74 and last traded at $728.33. Approximately 431,258 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,175,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $734.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $324.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $722.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $640.72.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total transaction of $505,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares in the company, valued at $4,593,803.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total transaction of $927,220.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,220,540.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,582 shares of company stock valued at $10,736,778 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $12,398,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 352,961 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $232,982,000 after acquiring an additional 98,184 shares during the last quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $4,225,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.