Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.2% – Should You Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded up 0.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $976.03 and last traded at $966.60. 1,168,674 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 40% from the average session volume of 1,942,706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $965.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 5.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $406.63 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $988.70 and a 200 day moving average of $947.67.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % 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. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 owns 11,165 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.