Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.5% - Time to Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 1.5% on Friday . The company traded as low as $943.16 and last traded at $949.73. 659,306 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 67% from the average session volume of 1,996,063 shares. The stock had previously closed at $964.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital decreased their price target 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, March 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $434.51 billion, a PE ratio of 57.51, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock's 50 day moving average is $982.89 and its 200 day moving average is $949.81.

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Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.