Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $980.00 target price (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $893.49 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The firm has a market cap of $395.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $890.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $836.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. 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 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $50,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.