Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 1.1% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Costco Wholesale's stock price decreased by 1.1%, trading at approximately $932.14 after closing at $942.05 on the previous day, with significantly lower trading volume.
• Analysts have revised Costco's price targets downward, with one citing a target of $907.00 and others setting various targets reflecting cautious sentiment, despite a general outlook of "Moderate Buy" for the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, payable on November 14th, representing a 0.6% dividend yield, which highlights a conservative payout approach with a ratio of 28.56%.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) was down 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $930.15 and last traded at $932.14. Approximately 1,634,958 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 2,249,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $942.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $946.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $971.51. The stock has a market cap of $413.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.19, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,692,035,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,461,159,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,335,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358,859 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,364,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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