Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Raymond James Analyst Says

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective raised by Raymond James from $990.00 to $1,030.00 in a research report report published on Thursday. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

COST has been the subject of several other research reports. Loop Capital raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $989.35 on Thursday. 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 $630.30 and a 1 year high of $1,007.80. The company has a market cap of $438.36 billion, a PE ratio of 58.09, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $926.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $885.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fermata Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. 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.