Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shot up 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $898.28 and last traded at $890.87. 517,822 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,913,328 shares. The stock had previously closed at $890.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $905.30.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $398.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $891.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $848.69.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 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.