Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Telsey Advisory Group reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $925.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

COST has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $842.77.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $896.49 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $858.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $801.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $397.44 billion, a PE ratio of 55.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after acquiring an additional 473,702 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after purchasing an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,102,941,000 after purchasing an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,790,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,842,241,000 after buying an additional 81,853 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.