Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.9% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares rose 0.9% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $959.38 and last traded at $958.82. Approximately 939,029 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 1,947,788 shares. The stock had previously closed at $949.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,011.74.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $424.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $940.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $893.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 329.4% during the 3rd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $71,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.