Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.3%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) dropped 0.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $766.81 and last traded at $769.33. Approximately 437,889 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 2,017,865 shares. The stock had previously closed at $771.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $338.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.32, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $731.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $675.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,245,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Gratus Capital LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the third quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 47,756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,980,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 10,622 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,001,000 after buying an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.