Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded down 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $821.68 and last traded at $826.58. 460,838 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,982,292 shares. The stock had previously closed at $827.39.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $845.00 to $860.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $746.11.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $366.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $753.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $708.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.