Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $928.80 and last traded at $928.50. Approximately 563,513 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,917,023 shares. The stock had previously closed at $913.93.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $418.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.96, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $893.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $850.73.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.