Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0% - Should You Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $907.48 and last traded at $904.19. Approximately 343,314 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,810,781 shares. The stock had previously closed at $904.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $403.42 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $987.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $945.06.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, 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 transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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.