Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 2.2% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price traded up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $985.64 and last traded at $984.80. 552,833 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 2,000,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $963.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $982.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $949.81. The company has a market cap of $436.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.80, 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’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 value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares during the period. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $95,452,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.