Costco Wholesale Co. Same Store Sales Grow 10% in March, Stock Rises by 0% (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale’s (NASDAQ:COST) same-store sales increased by 10% in the month of March. Costco Wholesale’s stock rose by 0% in the first day of trading following the news.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $673.36.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,182 shares of company stock worth $9,809,558. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $722.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $320.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $729.68 and its 200-day moving average is $653.60.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 15.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.68%.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.