Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 1.4%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares dropped 1.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $876.30 and last traded at $877.68. Approximately 461,842 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,948,995 shares. The stock had previously closed at $890.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $780.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $388.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $857.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $799.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.