Brokerages Set Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target at $691.28

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $691.28.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

COST stock opened at $709.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $730.29 and a 200-day moving average of $661.85.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,727 shares of company stock valued at $8,170,388. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $220,948,000 after buying an additional 96,566 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is 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.