Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price rose 0.1% on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $800.00 to $1,060.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as high as $974.64 and last traded at $965.88. Approximately 406,929 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,928,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $964.74.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on COST. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $932.17 and a 200 day moving average of $888.75. The company has a market capitalization of $426.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.53, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.