Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $1,005.00 at Loop Capital

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target upped by Loop Capital from $975.00 to $1,005.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Roth Mkm reissued a neutral rating and set a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a hold rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an accumulate rating to a buy rating and set a $925.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $885.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $392.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $870.67 and its 200 day moving average is $816.15.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Vima LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. 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.