Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $985.30 and last traded at $979.79. 355,046 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 2,027,965 shares. The stock had previously closed at $977.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4 %

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $966.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $956.28. The stock has a market cap of $431.85 billion, a PE ratio of 57.15, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 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.