Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 2.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price was down 2.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after HSBC lowered their price target on the stock from $1,060.00 to $1,045.00. HSBC currently has a hold rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as low as $851.40 and last traded at $860.56. Approximately 4,749,258 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 106% from the average daily volume of 2,307,831 shares. The stock had previously closed at $884.47.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $992.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 2,206 shares in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.7%

The firm has a market cap of $382.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.09, a PEG ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $915.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $949.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.85%.

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.