Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,024.03.

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grassi Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,723,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Capital & Planning LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $485,000. Finally, Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,008.50 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $973.21 and a 200 day moving average of $972.06. The stock has a market cap of $447.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $788.20 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.36%.

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.