Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.7% Following Weak Earnings

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price dropped 0.7% during trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as low as $1,029.50 and last traded at $1,040.39. Approximately 569,061 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,828,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,047.75.

The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $378,000. Elite Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $516,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $1,313,000. TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,690,000. Finally, Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Castle Rock Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,900 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,573,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 6.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $428.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $989.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $942.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

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.