Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given “Buy” Rating at Tigress Financial

Tigress Financial reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Tigress Financial currently has a $1,065.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $890.07.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

COST opened at $889.56 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $394.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $889.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $833.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,224 shares of company stock worth $9,974,973 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 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.