Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $1,125.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective hoisted by Robert W. Baird from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on COST. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on 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. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $964.31 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $989.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $943.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.