Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Cut to Hold at Freedom Broker

Freedom Broker lowered shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $1,050.00 target price on the retailer’s stock, up from their prior target price of $1,010.00.

COST has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Roth Capital reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $781.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,160.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,092.23.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,092.21 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $963.50 and its 200-day moving average is $974.45. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,102.84. The company has a market cap of $483.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.18, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 22.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $30.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.32%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,083.95, for a total transaction of $975,555.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,176,347.10. The trade was a 13.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total value of $2,015,046.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,244.62. The trade was a 23.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,200 shares of company stock valued at $4,044,632. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $6,781,946,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 31.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,359,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749,362 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,362,188,000. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 103,637.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,500,062 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,549,616,000 after purchasing an additional 2,497,652 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $726,689,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Recent Costco Wholesale Headlines

These are some of the COST headlines that stood out recently:

• Neutral Sentiment: Bernstein raised its price target to $1,155 and maintained an Outperform rating, but noted that expectations ahead of earnings remain demanding. Article: Bernstein Makes Surprising Costco Call Before Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: A federal lawsuit alleging misleading discounts presents a potential legal and reputational overhang; the provided report does not detail the allegations or potential exposure. Article: Costco faces federal suit over misleading discounts
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk: Freedom Broker downgraded Costco to Hold from Buy, citing the stock’s rich price, while an overbought RSI reading points to possible near-term momentum fatigue. Article: Costco Is Up 18% in a Year. Freedom Broker Says That’s Enough

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership-based warehouse clubs that offer a broad selection of merchandise at generally low prices. Its products include groceries, fresh foods, appliances, electronics, apparel, furniture, and household goods, as well as its Kirkland Signature private-label line. The company also provides services such as gasoline stations, pharmacies, optical and hearing-aid centers, food courts, and travel offerings. Costco serves members through warehouses and online channels.