Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $800.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $775.00 to $800.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Roth Mkm restated a neutral rating and issued a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $799.33.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of COST opened at $842.90 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $829.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $754.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $373.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.22, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $530.56 and a 1-year high of $896.67.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 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 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after buying an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $740,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 137 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.