Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price fell 0.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $916.43 and last traded at $918.08. 525,864 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 1,445,790 shares. The stock had previously closed at $922.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

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 $409.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.17, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $944.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $897.06.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,816 shares of company stock worth $6,981,347. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $765,000. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 9,986 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,150,000 after buying an additional 2,355 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 1,103 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,011,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.