Investors Sell Costco Wholesale (COST) on Strength (COST)

Investors sold shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) on strength during trading hours on Thursday. $196.01 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $213.63 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $17.62 million out of the stock. Of all equities tracked, Costco Wholesale had the 0th highest net out-flow for the day. Costco Wholesale traded up $0.77 for the day and closed at $221.82

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. ValuEngine raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 21st. Wells Fargo & Co lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 12th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 25th. Loop Capital set a $265.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.94.

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The firm has a market cap of $103.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 4th. The retailer reported $2.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $44.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.17 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.16% and a return on equity of 24.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 14th. Investors of record on Friday, August 31st were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.18%.

In other news, VP James P. Murphy sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.22, for a total transaction of $3,288,300.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 33,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,417,089.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Meisenbach sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.65, for a total transaction of $655,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,000 shares of company stock worth $5,351,100. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $269,000. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $320,000. Trust Co. of Oklahoma boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 10,961 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,575,000 after purchasing an additional 1,692 shares in the last quarter. Rathbone Brothers plc bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $424,000. Finally, BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 11,094 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.49% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates membership warehouses. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories. The company provides dry and packaged foods, and groceries; snack foods, candies, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and cleaning supplies; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, and garden and patio products; meat, bakery, deli, and produces; and apparel and small appliances.

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