Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 3%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price rose 3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $826.58 and last traded at $826.24. Approximately 518,634 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,988,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $801.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $905.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 price target (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. 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 have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $806.42.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.9 %

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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $843.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $773.00. The firm has a market cap of $362.15 billion, a PE ratio of 51.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.