Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.1% - What's Next?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 0.1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $973.08 and last traded at $981.10. Approximately 402,673 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,925,866 shares. The stock had previously closed at $982.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $997.75.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $931.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $888.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 33.19%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. 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, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,013,394,000 after buying an additional 125,444 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.