Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $871.09 and last traded at $875.50, with a volume of 1813135 shares. The stock had previously closed at $888.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,023.41.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a market cap of $388.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $918.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $952.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Severin Investments LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.5% during the third quarter. Severin Investments LLC now owns 445 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 60,683 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,170,000 after purchasing an additional 1,935 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 21,356 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $19,864,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the period. Stillwater Wealth Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $4,681,000. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 14,974 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,860,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.