Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) fell 0.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $780.45 and last traded at $781.09. 413,416 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 2,004,853 shares. The stock had previously closed at $787.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, May 6th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a market cap of $343.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $732.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $680.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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, topping 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 net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer's stock worth $16,302,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $179,822,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer's stock worth $14,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.0% during the third quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.