Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Upgraded at Gordon Haskett

Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) from an accumulate rating to a buy rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $925.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

COST has been the topic of a number of other reports. Roth Mkm restated a neutral rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $821.62.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $854.93 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $530.56 and a 1-year high of $896.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $844.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $776.31. The firm has a market cap of $379.02 billion, a PE ratio of 52.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the sale, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 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.