Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.6% – Time to Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) dropped 0.6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $874.09 and last traded at $885.91. Approximately 417,228 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,922,942 shares. The stock had previously closed at $890.96.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $892.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $841.35. The firm has a market cap of $392.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.46, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares in the last quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 66.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. now owns 3,088 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares in the last quarter. Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $6,424,000. Finally, WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 328.4% in the third quarter. WestHill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.