Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $950.00 at Morgan Stanley

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $855.00 to $950.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an outperform rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm restated a neutral rating and set a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $842.77.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.3 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $896.49 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $918.93. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $397.44 billion, a PE ratio of 55.54, a PEG ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $858.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $801.88.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued 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 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after buying an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by 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.