Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 1.1%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) shares traded down 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $714.41 and last traded at $715.09. 340,516 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 2,045,679 shares. The stock had previously closed at $722.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $730.36 and a 200-day moving average of $664.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.77, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 113 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 19.0% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC now owns 436 shares of the retailer's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,307 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $9,778,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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