Costco Wholesale Co. ( NASDAQ:COST - Free Report ) - Investment analysts at Telsey Advisory Group decreased their Q2 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a report released on Thursday, November 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now forecasts that the retailer will post earnings of $3.55 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $3.57. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a "Outperform" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $15.74 per share. Telsey Advisory Group also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale's Q4 2024 earnings at $5.01 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $15.51 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.60 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $3.92 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $3.96 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $5.57 EPS. Costco Wholesale ( NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The retailer reported $4.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.79 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.10% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $78.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.20 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Read Our Latest Report on Costco Wholesale Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 % Shares of COST opened at $560.90 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $447.90 and a 12-month high of $577.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $557.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $536.60. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. United Bank grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.6% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $220,948,000 after purchasing an additional 96,566 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 66.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Caton Frates sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.64, for a total transaction of $675,168.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,705,358.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . In other news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $565.57, for a total transaction of $1,131,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,914,008.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link . Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $562.64, for a total value of $675,168.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,363 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,705,358.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last three months, insiders sold 9,765 shares of company stock valued at $5,441,703. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 2nd. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.81%. About Costco Wholesale ( Get Free Report ) 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. Read More Five stocks we like better than Costco Wholesale How to Calculate Return on Investment (ROI) Shocking uranium play that hedge funds kept hidden What is an Earnings Surprise? Dependable dividends: Why utility stocks are on fire Dividend Screener: How to Evaluate Dividend Stocks Before Buying Realtor verdict, poor revenue guidance send Zillow stock plunging Receive News & Ratings for Costco Wholesale Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Costco Wholesale and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .