Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $873.00 at Truist Financial

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective hoisted by Truist Financial from $815.00 to $873.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on COST. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, May 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $746.11.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.7 %

COST opened at $815.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $361.63 billion, a PE ratio of 50.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $751.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $707.03. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $510.57 and a twelve month high of $827.91.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 29.33%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 15.88 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’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 owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. 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

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 194.0% during the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 13,404 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,845 shares during the period. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $234,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.2% in the third quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 29,377 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,597,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.1% during the third quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,114 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,668,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Finally, Dantai Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 160.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 5,200 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,938,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.