Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories. The company offers sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, liquor, and tobacco and deli products; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, garden and patio products, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal products, office supplies, automotive care products, postages, tickets, apparel, small appliances, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products. It also operates pharmacies, opticals, food courts, hearing-aid centers, and tire installation centers, as well as 636 gas stations; and offers business delivery, travel, same-day grocery, and various other services online in various countries. As of August 29, 2021, the company operated 815 membership warehouses, including 564 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 105 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 30 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 16 in South Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 12 in Australia, 3 in Spain, 1 in Iceland, 1 in France, and 1 in China. It also operates e-commerce websites in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.
Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %
Shares of COST traded down $2.61 on Friday, reaching $540.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,711,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,268,652. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $406.51 and a twelve month high of $612.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.50 billion, a PE ratio of 42.57, a PEG ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $492.92 and a 200-day moving average of $515.30.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 26th. The retailer reported $3.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $52.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.49 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 29.71%. The firm's revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.75 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 13.04 EPS for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Cuts Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 29th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 28th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.07%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.35%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $580.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, May 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $510.00 to $545.00 in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $650.00 to $610.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 27th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $543.00 to $571.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $520.00 to $678.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $576.68.
Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale
In other Costco Wholesale news, VP James P. Murphy sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total value of $1,160,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 37,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,506,720. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Mary Agnes Wilderotter acquired 850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $470.74 per share, for a total transaction of $400,129.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,317,008.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP James P. Murphy sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total transaction of $1,160,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 37,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,506,720. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,300 shares of company stock worth $2,609,904. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.
