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 twenty-nine brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,067.1923.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $947.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $925.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $954.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $971.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $410.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.83, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $867.16 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.56%.

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.