Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $1,024.50 and last traded at $1,021.80. 684,388 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 2,036,916 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,010.47.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Ten 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on COST
Costco Wholesale Price Performance
The company has a fifty day moving average price of $959.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $966.17. 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 market cap of $455.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.30, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale
In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% 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 Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale
A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Costco Wholesale
(
Get Free Report)
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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