Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.1% – Still a Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 0.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $953.07 and last traded at $951.18. Approximately 290,690 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,944,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $949.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,011.74.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $935.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $891.76. The company has a market capitalization of $425.62 billion, a PE ratio of 56.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,817 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,454,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. IMS Capital Management lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 3,816 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,383,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS now owns 4,033 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,575,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FFG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 23,814 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,112,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.