Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given New $1,175.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target boosted by BMO Capital Markets from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,050.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $989.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $438.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $926.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $884.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $630.30 and a 52-week high of $1,007.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 17.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following 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. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.