Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 1.5%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares were down 1.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $833.21 and last traded at $839.49. Approximately 441,488 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,980,776 shares. The stock had previously closed at $852.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $799.33.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $841.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $764.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $363.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,327,041.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $179,822,000 after buying an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.