Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given “Outperform” Rating at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $800.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Gordon Haskett cut Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to an accumulate rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

COST stock opened at $756.45 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $730.69 and a 200 day moving average of $674.43. The firm has a market cap of $335.49 billion, a PE ratio of 49.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.