Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.2% - Here's What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 0.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $954.02 and last traded at $956.82. 211,213 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,940,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $958.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,011.74.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $938.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $893.02. The company has a market capitalization of $424.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the 3rd quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,056,000. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares in 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.