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

Key Points

• Costco shares fell about 1.1% to roughly $912.59 on Monday with volume up ~9%, and the stock is trading below its 50‑day ($934.93) and 200‑day ($966.35) moving averages.
• Wall Street maintains a consensus "Moderate Buy" (19 Buys, 11 Holds) with an average target of $1,063.88, although several firms recently trimmed price targets (e.g., Daiwa, Morgan Stanley, Evercore).
• Costco beat quarterly estimates (EPS $5.87 vs. $5.81; revenue $86.16B), has a market cap of about $404B and a high valuation (P/E ~50), pays a quarterly dividend of $1.30 (0.6% yield), and insiders sold roughly 10,320 shares last quarter.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 1.1% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $908.81 and last traded at $912.59. Approximately 2,474,528 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 2,262,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $922.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,140.00 to $1,134.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,063.88.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $404.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.11, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50 day moving average is $934.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $966.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued 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 was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 10,320 shares of company stock worth $9,605,487 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,141,062,000 after purchasing an additional 90,107 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,124,263,000 after purchasing an additional 150,844 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $5,692,035,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,097,127,000 after purchasing an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently 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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