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

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $850.00 to $950.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Melius Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $928.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $992.61 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $606.35 and a twelve month high of $997.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $915.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $878.74. The firm has a market cap of $439.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 17.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $9,539,000. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the third quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 3,954 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,506,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 2,700 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,394,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. Old North State Trust LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 2,299 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,231 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,368,000 after purchasing an additional 5,853 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.