Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on the stock from $580.00 to $540.00. The stock had previously closed at $485.69, but opened at $474.83. Telsey Advisory Group currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale shares last traded at $469.25, with a volume of 1,673,886 shares traded.
COST has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Friday. Credit Suisse Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $520.00 price objective (down from $550.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, February 7th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $510.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $605.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $490.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Friday, December 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $549.75.
Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale
In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.69, for a total transaction of $1,259,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 40,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,592,861.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 952 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $483.00, for a total value of $459,816.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,138,360. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $503.69, for a total transaction of $1,259,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 40,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,592,861.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale
Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lakewood Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Whitener Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Whitener Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,083 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. DDFG Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,364 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.0% during the fourth quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 10,172 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,663,000 after purchasing an additional 1,901 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.03% of the company’s stock.
Costco Wholesale Price Performance
The firm has a market cap of $208.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $488.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $497.19.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The retailer reported $3.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.55% and a return on equity of 28.83%. The firm had revenue of $55.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $55.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.92 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 14.27 EPS for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.21%.
About Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Corp. engages in the operation of membership warehouses through wholly owned subsidiaries. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Canada, and Other International Operations. The company was founded by James D. Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman in 1983 and is headquartered in Issaquah, WA.