Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.1% Higher - What's Next?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 0.1% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $1,036.85 and last traded at $1,035.67. 290,840 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,037,869 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,034.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $459.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.80, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $963.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $969.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Integrity Alliance LLC. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 271.4% during the first quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 17,044 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $16,120,000 after buying an additional 12,455 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $61,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 8,280 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,831,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust co raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 9,643 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,120,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chokshi & Queen Wealth Advisors Inc boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Chokshi & Queen Wealth Advisors Inc now owns 11,139 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $10,535,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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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