Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a hold rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an outperform rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $885.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $870.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $816.15. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $392.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 30.8% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,757,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% in the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. 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.