Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $1,060.00 at Citigroup

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $800.00 to $1,060.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on COST. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,050.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $997.75.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $964.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $640.51 and a 52-week high of $1,008.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $932.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $888.75. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 17.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $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.