Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given New $975.00 Price Target at Loop Capital

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective lifted by Loop Capital from $970.00 to $975.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an accumulate rating to a buy rating and set a $925.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson restated a neutral rating and set a $780.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $876.68 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $918.93. The company has a market capitalization of $388.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $857.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $800.74.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

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

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.