Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 1.6% Higher – What’s Next?

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price was up 1.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $912.00 and last traded at $908.26. Approximately 1,931,302 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 2,281,562 shares. The stock had previously closed at $894.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $925.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $960.83. The stock has a market cap of $402.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.88, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% during the third quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $34,000. 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.