Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 2.4% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $985.65 and last traded at $980.99. 513,190 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,013,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $957.77.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.
Check Out Our Latest Report on COST
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
The company's fifty day moving average is $973.84 and its 200 day moving average is $953.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $432.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale
In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale
Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.4% during the first quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.5% in the first quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,230 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Cyr Financial Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.8% in the first quarter. Cyr Financial Inc. now owns 639 shares of the retailer's stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 31.4% during the first quarter. Midwest Financial Group LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $391,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.
About Costco Wholesale
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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