Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.4% - What's Next?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $990.52 and last traded at $995.46. Approximately 658,810 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 2,030,068 shares. The stock had previously closed at $999.03.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $959.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $966.17. The firm has a market cap of $453.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,786 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,386,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 314 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,797,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.