Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 2% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shot up 2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $947.18 and last traded at $946.85. 539,148 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,920,123 shares. The stock had previously closed at $928.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $422.16 billion, a PE ratio of 57.14, a PEG ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $899.35 and its 200-day moving average is $862.71.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.3% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,719 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,408 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 345,037 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $252,785,000 after acquiring an additional 28,942 shares in the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Guardian Capital LP raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 50,758 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,187,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 32.3% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 639 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.