Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0% - Still a Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 0% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1,038.74 and last traded at $1,036.98. Approximately 264,244 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,041,354 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,036.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm's fifty day moving average is $966.54 and its 200 day moving average is $969.95. The company has a market cap of $456.46 billion, a PE ratio of 60.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $95,452,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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.

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