Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given New $1,418.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 in a report released on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on COST. Erste Group Bank cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,069.58.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.9%

COST opened at $915.95 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $867.16 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average of $955.70 and a 200-day moving average of $970.76.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.10% and a net margin of 2.94%.Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 141.9% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,517 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.