Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded down 0.4% during trading on Friday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $728.00 and last traded at $729.45. 306,353 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,108,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $732.35.
Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.
Insider Activity
In other news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total transaction of $505,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total transaction of $1,700,825.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,182 shares of company stock valued at $9,809,558 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Planning Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 12,485 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares during the period. Capital Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Planning LLC now owns 2,976 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,181,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,808 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,255,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $510,353,000. Finally, Traynor Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,266 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,660,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
The company has a market capitalization of $324.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $654.15.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.81 EPS for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.
About Costco Wholesale
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.