Melius Research Initiates Coverage on Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $950.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Argus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $970.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $857.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $917.08 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $866.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $812.45. 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 company has a market capitalization of $406.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $540.23 and a 52-week high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Strong Tower Advisory Services grew 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 in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 30.8% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,705,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.