Q4 2024 EPS Estimates for Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Lifted by DA Davidson

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Research analysts at DA Davidson upped their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research report issued on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now forecasts that the retailer will post earnings per share of $5.09 for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $5.07. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $15.97 per share.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.43 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on COST. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $821.62.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $854.93 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $530.56 and a twelve month high of $896.67. The stock has a market cap of $379.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $844.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $776.31.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $3,628,694,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after purchasing an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.