Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 1.2%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) fell 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $874.00 and last traded at $890.25. 1,443,490 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 1,958,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $901.44.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $392.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $870.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $816.70.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s 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 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the 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 sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,510,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,305 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $861,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is 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.