Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.3% – What’s Next?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $992.24 and last traded at $1,004.57. 643,039 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 2,024,604 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,008.09.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 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, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $450.85 billion, a PE ratio of 59.67, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $958.68 and its 200-day moving average is $964.05.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,386,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 96,068 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $88,024,000 after buying an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,491 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently 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.