Short Interest in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Increases By 8.3%

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,490,000 shares, an increase of 8.3% from the October 31st total of 5,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $5.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $987.86. 446,544 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,919,113. The stock has a market capitalization of $437.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $910.39 and a 200 day moving average of $875.27. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $597.03 and a twelve month high of $988.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $908.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $9,539,000. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 3,954 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,506,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 2,700 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,231 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,368,000 after purchasing an additional 5,853 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.