Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.1% - Time to Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 0.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $1,029.00 and last traded at $1,026.90. 458,846 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 2,039,043 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,025.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 5th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $961.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $968.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $458.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.74, 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, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 18,842 shares of the retailer's stock worth $17,264,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,214,000. 68.48% of the stock is 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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