Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.7%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) traded down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $720.48 and last traded at $721.56. 194,187 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 2,026,538 shares. The stock had previously closed at $726.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $320.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's fifty day moving average is $730.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $669.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 11,481 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,412,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Longbow Finance SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $6,762,000. Norden Group LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 35.3% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,418 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 6,634 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,863,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.2% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 102,399 shares of the retailer's stock worth $75,021,000 after acquiring an additional 6,882 shares in the last quarter. 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.