Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0.4%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $863.52 and last traded at $862.66. Approximately 814,423 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average daily volume of 1,709,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $859.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on COST. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 price target (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $758.70.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $810.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $744.39. The stock has a market cap of $382.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.45, a PEG ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $3,628,694,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $510,353,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after purchasing an additional 552,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,640,940,000 after purchasing an additional 485,051 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently 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.