Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.3% – Here’s Why

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price dropped 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $921.20 and last traded at $931.16. Approximately 760,617 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 1,815,817 shares. The stock had previously closed at $934.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $989.94 and a 200-day moving average of $944.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $414.41 billion, a PE ratio of 54.83, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,489,574,000 after buying an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $984,000. 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.