Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.2%

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) traded down 0.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $716.09 and last traded at $721.43. 259,195 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 2,055,816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $722.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $321.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $664.46.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.1% in the first quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 1,200 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 130.1% in the first quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,714 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,721,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.1% during the first quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 1,447 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.