Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $925.00 at Evercore ISI

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective boosted by Evercore ISI from $915.00 to $925.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

COST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an outperform rating and set a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $876.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $857.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $799.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $388.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $3,628,694,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares during the period. 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.