Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,011.74.

Several brokerages have commented on COST. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $58,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 329.4% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $71,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $958.82 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $425.62 billion, a PE ratio of 56.30, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $640.51 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $935.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $891.76.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.