Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.5% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 0.5% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $901.62 and last traded at $898.13. Approximately 393,569 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 1,929,804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $893.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $394.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $891.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $839.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 0.00 % 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, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,636 shares of company stock worth $11,238,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 183 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.4% during the third quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 12,551 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,127,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Fiducient Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $261,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 86.8% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,768,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the period. Finally, Sunburst Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.5% during the third quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.