Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,360,000 shares, a decline of 5.9% from the March 15th total of 6,760,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 2,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $2.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $715.97. 1,403,441 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,111,395. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $730.82 and a 200 day moving average of $657.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $317.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.16, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total transaction of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,442 shares of company stock valued at $9,303,768 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Opinicus Capital Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,313 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,486,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 3,211 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,130 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 1,722 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,262,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.