Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 1.4% – Should You Sell?

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) shares dropped 1.4% on Monday . The company traded as low as $881.32 and last traded at $886.12. Approximately 3,603,961 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 58% from the average daily volume of 2,281,052 shares. The stock had previously closed at $899.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $392.71 billion, a PE ratio of 48.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $926.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $961.64.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 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.