Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 1.1% – Here’s Why

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares traded up 1.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $997.71 and last traded at $992.61. 1,737,317 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 1,779,814 shares. The stock had previously closed at $982.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $931.89.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

The firm has a market cap of $440.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.95, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $917.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $880.63. 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 posted its 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 net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.74 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position 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. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 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.