Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0.7%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price was up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $751.09 and last traded at $748.89. Approximately 391,007 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 2,021,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at $743.90.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $338.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $731.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $675.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Doheny Asset Management CA lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.6% in the first quarter. Doheny Asset Management CA now owns 4,041 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,961,000 after acquiring an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.1% in the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 90,476 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $66,285,000 after buying an additional 16,362 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.1% in the first quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 37,663 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $27,594,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 32,187 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $23,581,000 after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. Finally, Financial & Tax Architects LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.2% during the first quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 1,331 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.