Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Announces Earnings Results

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 4.0%

COST stock opened at $1,048.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $465.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $983.85 and its 200 day moving average is $975.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $788.20 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Costco Wholesale stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. 68.48% of the stock is currently 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.