Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price dropped 0.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $964.06 and last traded at $969.15. 291,782 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,924,903 shares. The stock had previously closed at $971.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $425.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.49, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $903.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $868.77. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. 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.