Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0.1% – Here’s Why

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shot up 0.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $925.77 and last traded at $917.55. 476,666 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 1,942,804 shares. The stock had previously closed at $916.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $406.87 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $943.38 and a 200 day moving average of $896.28.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,816 shares of company stock valued at $6,981,347 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,538,078 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,307,363,000 after purchasing an additional 338,780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 75,894.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 338,935 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,473,000 after buying an additional 338,489 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.