Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) will be releasing its earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, May 25th. Analysts expect Costco Wholesale to post earnings of $3.35 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The retailer reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $55.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $55.61 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 28.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Costco Wholesale to post $14 EPS for the current fiscal year and $15 EPS for the next fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
NASDAQ:COST opened at $495.00 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $493.77 and its 200-day moving average is $492.85. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $406.51 and a 1-year high of $564.75. The stock has a market cap of $219.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 4th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.98%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.32, for a total value of $999,505.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,252,162. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.32, for a total transaction of $999,505.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 25,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,252,162. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.35, for a total transaction of $298,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,552. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,168 shares of company stock worth $2,031,341 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,941,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390,278 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,328,844,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,376,250 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,368,364,000 after purchasing an additional 64,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.3% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 911,411 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $430,432,000 after purchasing an additional 107,250 shares in the last quarter. 66.03% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $571.00 to $568.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $510.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $549.52.
About Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Corp. engages in the operation of membership warehouses through wholly owned subsidiaries. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Canada, and Other International Operations. The company was founded by James D. Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman in 1983 and is headquartered in Issaquah, WA.