Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $850.00 to $950.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $928.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9 %

COST opened at $982.26 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $913.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $876.82. The company has a market capitalization of $435.21 billion, a PE ratio of 59.28, a PEG ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $603.86 and a 1-year high of $991.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 17.75 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.