Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 1.2% - Time to Buy?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) shot up 1.2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $1,018.00 and last traded at $1,009.25. 504,879 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,029,642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $997.74.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $961.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $958.94. 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 stock has a market cap of $447.37 billion, a PE ratio of 59.21, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position 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 period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other 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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