Analysts Set Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) PT at $1,011.74

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $1,011.74.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,816 shares of company stock worth $6,981,347 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 329.4% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $939.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $640.51 and a 52 week high of $1,008.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $941.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $894.74. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 33.19%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 17.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

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.