Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.10 EPS

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.10, Zacks reports. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $10.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $884.48. 2,741,963 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,282,911. The company has a market capitalization of $392.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.57, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $917.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $952.44. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $871.09 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 8,502 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,416,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $418,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Argus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,023.41.

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.