Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) traded down 1.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as low as $908.30 and last traded at $923.58. 3,193,221 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 41% from the average session volume of 2,264,957 shares. The stock had previously closed at $935.03.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on COST. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,063.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $34,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2%

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $938.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $969.33. The stock has a market cap of $409.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

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.