Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,063.8846.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. The trade was a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 10,320 shares of company stock worth $9,605,487 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the second quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,616 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,479,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,718,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,430,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. now owns 5,903 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,844,000 after buying an additional 1,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rossmore Private Capital increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 6,687 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,325,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2%

COST opened at $922.98 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $934.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $966.73. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $871.71 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $409.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.69, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.