Costco Wholesale’s (COST) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,100.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

COST has been the topic of several other research reports. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $936.94 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $667.64 and a 1-year high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $415.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.02, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $947.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $898.91.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd 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. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 329.4% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $71,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.