Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.7% – What’s Next?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) was down 0.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $947.54 and last traded at $960.48. Approximately 1,130,895 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 1,943,072 shares. The stock had previously closed at $967.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 5.2 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $989.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $947.61. The firm has a market cap of $406.85 billion, a PE ratio of 53.84, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 9,738 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,210,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 141.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,517 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 890 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,605,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the first quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 2,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $281,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.