Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) traded up 2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $947.18 and last traded at $946.85. 539,148 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,920,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $928.08.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.
Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.7 %
The company has a market cap of $422.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.14, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $899.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $862.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.
Insider Activity
In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.3% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 1,408 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 345,037 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $252,785,000 after purchasing an additional 28,942 shares in the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.9% during the first quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Guardian Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 50,758 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,187,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.3% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.