Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Time to Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price dropped 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $949.69 and last traded at $960.89. Approximately 3,240,929 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 68% from the average daily volume of 1,934,416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $964.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $902.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $867.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $425.75 billion, a PE ratio of 57.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was 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 represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. 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.