Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.1% - Time to Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $955.51 and last traded at $955.34. Approximately 1,267,858 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 1,935,040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $954.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,050.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $997.75.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $933.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $889.21. The company has a market cap of $422.72 billion, a PE ratio of 56.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 33.19%. The business 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 business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 10,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $58,000. 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.