Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $969.94 and last traded at $965.66. Approximately 257,158 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,922,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $961.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Melius Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $430.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $906.32 and a 200-day moving average of $870.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PGGM Investments grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 31.2% during the first quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 4,231 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,006 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $329,000. Railway Pension Investments Ltd increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 85.3% in the first quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 111,442 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $81,646,000 after purchasing an additional 51,300 shares in the last quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC now owns 4,901 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,591,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,582 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,927,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.