Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Research Coverage Started at BTIG Research

BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $1,115.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $925.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.83, a P/E/G ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $867.34 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $950.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $971.61.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share 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 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.15 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 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.