Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.1% - Here's What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) traded down 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $1,006.30 and last traded at $1,009.77. 279,154 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,024,620 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,010.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $446.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $960.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $961.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in 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 period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $95,452,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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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