Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.1% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) dropped 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $994.07 and last traded at $995.85. Approximately 478,165 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 2,023,280 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,007.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 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. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $446.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $960.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $961.49.

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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,452,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer's stock worth $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.