Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.6% Higher – Should You Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price was up 0.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $895.57 and last traded at $895.88. Approximately 911,906 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 1,810,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $890.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $990.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $944.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.95 billion, a PE ratio of 53.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its 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). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $117,792,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $3,665,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $1,770,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $453,000. 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.