Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) dropped 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $815.00 and last traded at $818.54. Approximately 250,434 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,977,897 shares. The stock had previously closed at $822.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $900.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $799.33.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $842.93 and a 200 day moving average of $769.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $361.19 billion, a PE ratio of 50.72, a PEG ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.