Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $1,005.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target raised by Loop Capital from $975.00 to $1,005.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $885.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $870.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $817.28. The stock has a market cap of $392.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oak Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 790 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifePro Asset Management lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. LifePro Asset Management now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is 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.