Telsey Advisory Group Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Equities researchers at Telsey Advisory Group upped their Q3 2024 EPS estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, April 10th. Telsey Advisory Group analyst J. Feldman now expects that the retailer will post earnings per share of $3.71 for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.70. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $15.81 per share.

COST has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $732.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $324.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.90, a PEG ratio of 5.00 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $730.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $654.15. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,182 shares of company stock valued at $9,809,558. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.