Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 1.3% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) was down 1.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $871.71 and last traded at $904.45. Approximately 1,745,396 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 11% from the average daily volume of 1,957,641 shares. The stock had previously closed at $916.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $402.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.33, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. 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 50-day moving average price of $987.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $948.47.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly 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). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $945,000. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 240 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 1,354 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,200,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $355,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.