Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) were down 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $855.00 and last traded at $856.17. Approximately 255,463 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,953,717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $859.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $758.70.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $807.29 and its 200 day moving average is $743.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The company has a market cap of $380.31 billion, a PE ratio of 53.05, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.9% during the second quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,323 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,924,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 109 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.7% in the second quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 898 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 11.2% during the second quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,353 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,000,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is 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.