Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 2.5% - Should You Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) shares were down 2.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $1,017.36 and last traded at $1,025.64. Approximately 854,486 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 2,046,705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,051.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $992.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $978.72. The firm has a market cap of $450.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.60, 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, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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.