Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.4% – Here’s Why

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) was down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $880.32 and last traded at $883.51. Approximately 306,092 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,919,740 shares. The stock had previously closed at $886.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $390.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average of $892.35 and a 200 day moving average of $842.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total value of $431,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the first quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 8,841 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,477,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.3% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 557 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,605 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,304,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 82.8% in the 1st quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 731 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $535,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% 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.