Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 1.3% – What’s Next?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price traded down 1.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $871.71 and last traded at $904.45. 1,745,396 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 1,957,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $916.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $402.92 billion, a PE ratio of 53.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $987.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $948.47.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $945,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 1,354 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $355,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.