Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares traded up 0.1% during trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $800.00 to $1,060.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as high as $974.64 and last traded at $965.88. 406,929 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,928,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $964.74.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $997.75.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $933.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $889.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $423.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 33.19%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.