Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 2.8% – Should You Buy?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price traded up 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $999.92 and last traded at $994.50. 2,705,128 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 34% from the average session volume of 2,016,124 shares. The stock had previously closed at $967.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a PE ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $975.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $952.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.3% during the first quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,060,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 4,456 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,214,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.4% in the 1st quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 8,661 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,191,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 576 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 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.