Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.4% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Costco Wholesale's stock has decreased by 1.4%, trading at approximately $930.01 after reaching a low of $929.00 during the recent session.
• Analysts have varied price targets for Costco stock, with estimates ranging from $907.00 to $1,200.00, featuring an overall consensus price target of $1,066.23.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS of $5.87, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $86.16 billion, marking an 8.1% year-over-year increase.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) fell 1.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $929.00 and last traded at $930.01. 3,116,377 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 38% from the average session volume of 2,260,552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $942.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,066.23.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The business's fifty day moving average price is $952.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $971.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.44 billion, a PE ratio of 51.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock valued at $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,628 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 966 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 41.1% during the first quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 618 shares of the retailer's stock worth $584,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.7% during the first quarter. Capital Advisory Group Advisory Services LLC now owns 600 shares of the retailer's stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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