Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.6% - What's Next?

Key Points

• Costco shares dropped 1.6% on Thursday, trading at $979.11 with a significant decline in trading volume, down 69% from the average daily volume.
• Analysts have mixed ratings, with a current consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of approximately $1,050.00, reflecting some decreased expectations from previous targets.
• Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a yield of 0.5%, and has shown a year-over-year revenue increase of 8% in its latest earnings report.

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) were down 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $970.44 and last traded at $979.11. Approximately 683,294 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 2,197,839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $994.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.5%

The company has a market cap of $430.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.10 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $971.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $986.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. 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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