Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 3.1% Higher Following Earnings Beat

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) shot up 3.1% during trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $1,047.00 and last traded at $1,040.00. 1,541,309 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 2,047,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,008.74.

The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company'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 value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% 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 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Stanich Group LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,522,000. Manuka Financial LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, Flavin Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,494,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $465.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.58, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $983.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $975.34.

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.