Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.8%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded up 0.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $728.40 and last traded at $728.03. 247,480 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 2,018,510 shares. The stock had previously closed at $722.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $325.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $730.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $670.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vicus Capital increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.2% in the third quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 520 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.1% in the third quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.0% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,794 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.5% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 48,934 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $27,646,000 after purchasing an additional 7,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,541 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.