Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10, Briefing.com reports. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded down $15.82 on Friday, reaching $885.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,459,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,969,224. The company has a market capitalization of $392.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $870.67 and a 200-day moving average of $816.15. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note 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 MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $881.19.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were 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 $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% 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.