Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 1% on Analyst Upgrade

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price was up 1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $630.00 to $710.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as high as $722.99 and last traded at $722.50. Approximately 277,432 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,066,722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $715.46.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $477,000. Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the third quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 18,702 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,566,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the third quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,506 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,806,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the third quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 1,258 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average is $730.16 and its 200 day moving average is $662.88. The firm has a market cap of $320.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.21, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

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.