Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.2%

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) dropped 0.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $902.50 and last traded at $905.61. Approximately 267,237 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,940,149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $907.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $780.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Argus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $862.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $809.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $395.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a PEG ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.6% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 2,475 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keystone Financial Group acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $282,000. 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.