Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.1% - Time to Buy?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) were up 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $925.77 and last traded at $917.55. Approximately 476,666 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,942,804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $916.27.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,011.74.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $942.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $895.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $403.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.42, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,816 shares of company stock valued at $6,981,347 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares in the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $300,473,000 after purchasing an additional 338,489 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.