Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.07 EPS

Key Points

• Costco Wholesale reported earnings of $5.87 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $5.80 by $0.07.
• The company's stock experienced a slight decline of 0.2%, trading at $943.31 during midday.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, which reflects an annualized dividend yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.07, Zacks reports. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of COST stock traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $943.31. 2,879,413 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,212,531. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $867.16 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company's 50 day moving average is $956.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $970.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $418.34 billion, a PE ratio of 53.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,061.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 638.7% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 227,310 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $225,023,000 after purchasing an additional 196,537 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 87.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 97,327 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $96,347,000 after purchasing an additional 45,310 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 83,241 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $82,404,000 after purchasing an additional 8,947 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 117.0% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 16,382 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $16,217,000 after purchasing an additional 8,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,463,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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.

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