Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 0.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $969.94 and last traded at $965.66. Approximately 257,158 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 1,922,825 shares. The stock had previously closed at $961.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $906.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $870.06. The firm has a market cap of $430.36 billion, a PE ratio of 58.28, a PEG ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.2% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,231 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,368,000 after buying an additional 5,853 shares during the last quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5,552.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC now owns 18,258 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,186,000 after acquiring an additional 17,935 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 214.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,459 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,272,000 after acquiring an additional 7,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $384,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.