Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.5% – What’s Next?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) shot up 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $939.52 and last traded at $937.12. 347,620 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,923,456 shares. The stock had previously closed at $932.88.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COST. Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $676.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $905.30.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on COST

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $894.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $854.01. The company has a market cap of $413.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,136 shares of company stock worth $10,806,570 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during 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 purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Costco Wholesale

(Get Free Report)

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.

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