Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 1.5%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) was down 1.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $901.90 and last traded at $903.17. Approximately 560,001 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,948,092 shares. The stock had previously closed at $917.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $910.00 to $915.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $857.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $866.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $812.45. The firm has a market cap of $400.69 billion, a PE ratio of 55.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 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 three months, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oak Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, LifePro Asset Management increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. 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.