Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price rose 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $890.98 and last traded at $887.59. Approximately 197,459 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 1,932,778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $886.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $398.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $891.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $836.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced 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 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid 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 is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,220 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,643. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.