Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded down 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $921.20 and last traded at $931.16. 760,617 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 1,815,817 shares. The stock had previously closed at $934.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $395.35 billion, a PE ratio of 52.30, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $990.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $944.52.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after acquiring an additional 6,495 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 3,762 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,341,000 after buying an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 7,467 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,623,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 168,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $149,504,000 after buying an additional 1,745 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.