Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given New $880.00 Price Target at DA Davidson

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target upped by DA Davidson from $780.00 to $880.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the retailer’s stock. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s FY2025 earnings at $17.73 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $18.99 EPS.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on COST. BMO Capital Markets restated an outperform rating and issued a $980.00 price target (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an accumulate rating to a buy rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $886.52 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $923.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $871.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $818.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.93, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total transaction of $1,272,795.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,250,000. Sage Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% during the second quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $935,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,179 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,402,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.5% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 389,883 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $331,397,000 after acquiring an additional 33,720 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $206,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.