Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0%

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) were up 0% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $877.58 and last traded at $877.58. Approximately 360,284 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,961,001 shares. The stock had previously closed at $877.38.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

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 firm has a market capitalization of $389.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $871.96 and its 200 day moving average is $819.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after buying an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after buying an additional 88,550 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,842,241,000 after acquiring an additional 81,853 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,307,363,000 after acquiring an additional 338,780 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.