Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 0.4% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $939.42 and last traded at $934.13. Approximately 391,574 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,816,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $930.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $411.50 billion, a PE ratio of 54.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s fifty day moving average is $987.84 and its 200 day moving average is $946.11.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.