Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $950.00 to $1,000.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,050.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $989.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $630.30 and a 1 year high of $1,007.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $926.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $885.75. The firm has a market cap of $438.35 billion, a PE ratio of 58.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 33.19%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 17.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 11.3% in the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 530 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.8% in the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 522 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 15,084 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,821,000 after purchasing an additional 3,780 shares in the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,839 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CAP Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the second quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 515 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $438,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.