Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s share price was down 2.6% during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $972.25 and last traded at $968.69. Approximately 557,720 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 2,010,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $994.50.
Specifically, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on COST
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
The company has a 50-day moving average price of $969.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $954.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $431.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.17, 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 data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. 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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