Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.4% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Tigress Financial raised their price target on the stock from $870.00 to $975.00. Tigress Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as high as $853.43 and last traded at $851.51. Approximately 312,743 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,969,244 shares. The stock had previously closed at $848.16.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Loop Capital raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $756.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

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 has a 50-day moving average of $793.52 and a 200 day moving average of $735.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $379.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

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.