Costco Wholesale’s (COST) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group restated their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $1,000.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $908.81.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $971.88 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $907.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $872.68. The firm has a market cap of $430.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.65, a PEG ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $582.83 and a one year high of $976.30. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.