Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0.6%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price rose 0.6% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $741.00 and last traded at $735.69. Approximately 413,922 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 2,101,896 shares. The stock had previously closed at $731.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $317.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $730.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $658.84.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,442 shares of company stock worth $9,303,768 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Enterprise Financial Services Corp raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morton Capital Management LLC CA increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.