Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 1.1% – Here’s Why

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded up 1.1% on Monday . The company traded as high as $973.27 and last traded at $971.88. 1,095,860 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the average session volume of 1,926,762 shares. The stock had previously closed at $961.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $430.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.65, a PEG ratio of 6.00 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $907.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $872.68.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 746 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $634,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $262,000. Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the second quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 8,637 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,342,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the second quarter. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC now owns 14,226 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,092,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.