Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $1,004.98 and last traded at $1,004.01, with a volume of 140247 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $993.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $931.89.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $445.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.80, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $920.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $881.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd 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. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.