Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 2.2% - Time to Buy?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) rose 2.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $985.64 and last traded at $984.80. Approximately 552,833 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 2,000,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $963.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.8 %

The company has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $977.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $951.51. 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 earnings results 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the first quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,060,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the first quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 4,456 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,214,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 8,661 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.9% in the first quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 576 shares of the retailer's stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Costco Wholesale

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.