Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 1.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from $875.00 to $950.00. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as high as $869.21 and last traded at $868.91. Approximately 464,616 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 1,990,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $854.93.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $824.50.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $844.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $776.95. The stock has a market cap of $381.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

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.