Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 1.1% After Analyst Upgrade

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares rose 1.1% during mid-day trading on Monday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $925.00 to $975.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as high as $910.00 and last traded at $895.59. Approximately 605,878 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 1,961,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $885.62.

COST has been the topic of a number of other reports. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $883.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $871.96 and a 200-day moving average of $819.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s revenue 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

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.