Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.7% - Should You Sell?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) were down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $998.05 and last traded at $1,001.00. Approximately 345,229 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 2,024,052 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,007.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $446.86 billion, a PE ratio of 59.14, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $959.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $962.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $8,430,000. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,522,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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