Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 0.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $899.81 and last traded at $902.36. Approximately 984,594 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 1,815,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $895.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $988.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $944.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.