Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 1.9%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price shot up 1.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $811.89 and last traded at $811.80. 543,844 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,959,094 shares. The stock had previously closed at $796.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $696.88.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $359.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $742.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $696.37.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 14 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.