Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0% – Should You Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price was down 0% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $897.25 and last traded at $897.66. Approximately 376,894 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,809,392 shares. The stock had previously closed at $898.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $399.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $989.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $945.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 68.48% of the stock is 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.