Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.6% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price fell 0.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $874.09 and last traded at $885.91. 417,228 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 1,922,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $890.96.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price objective (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $892.30 and its 200-day moving average is $842.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $389.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.05, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,636 shares of company stock valued at $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the third quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,386,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.6% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,797 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,799,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Gordian Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $383,000. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.8% in the third quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 813 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.1% in the third quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 418 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 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.