Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates Outperform Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Telsey Advisory Group reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $1,100.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 5.2 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $916.48 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $702.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $988.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $947.67. The firm has a market cap of $406.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 9,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,210,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 141.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,517 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,605,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the first quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 2,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.