Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.3% - Should You Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s share price fell 0.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $960.71 and last traded at $972.82. 914,809 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 2,022,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $975.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $966.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $955.84. The company has a market cap of $433.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction 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 $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.1% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,632,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,088,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.