Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 1.2% - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Costco's stock price increased by 1.2% to $936.33, with a notable trading volume of approximately 2.34 million shares, surpassing its average daily volume.
• Analysts have given Costco a Moderate Buy rating, with a significant price target increase by Goldman Sachs from $1,333 to $1,418, suggesting strong growth potential.
• The company reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, exceeding estimates, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share on November 14th.

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) rose 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as high as $938.82 and last traded at $936.33. Approximately 2,339,996 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 4% from the average daily volume of 2,260,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $925.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Erste Group Bank lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $414.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $950.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.15 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction 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 $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company's 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 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,141,062,000 after buying an additional 90,107 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $10,124,263,000 after buying an additional 150,844 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,692,035,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,097,127,000 after buying an additional 18,045 shares in the last quarter. 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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