Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price was up 0.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $931.61 and last traded at $929.73. Approximately 471,924 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 1,823,339 shares. The stock had previously closed at $926.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $987.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $946.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $413.21 billion, a PE ratio of 54.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $984,000. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.