Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.9% – What’s Next?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) were up 0.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $959.38 and last traded at $958.82. Approximately 939,029 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 1,947,788 shares. The stock had previously closed at $949.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,011.74.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $425.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $937.19 and its 200 day moving average is $892.56.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after acquiring an additional 88,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,013,394,000 after purchasing an additional 125,444 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.