Analysts Set Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target at $1,029.00

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,029.00.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sage Capital Advisors llc increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 9,738 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,210,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 141.9% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,517 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the first quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 5,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,605,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the first quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 2,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,953,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Finally, Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth approximately $281,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.48 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $702.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $988.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $948.42. The company has a market cap of $406.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

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.