Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0.3%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $907.62 and last traded at $903.34. Approximately 641,444 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 1,935,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $900.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 6th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $970.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $844.52.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $863.57 and its 200-day moving average is $809.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $398.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,688,000 after purchasing an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.