Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 2.6% – Time to Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares traded down 2.6% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $972.25 and last traded at $968.69. 557,720 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 2,010,759 shares. The stock had previously closed at $994.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $975.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $953.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $421.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.80, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $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.