Costco Wholesale’s (COST) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,100.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $916.58 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $640.51 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market cap of $406.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $942.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $895.94.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s 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 the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,816 shares of company stock valued at $6,981,347. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Modus Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 1,777 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peirce Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $332,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.