Wells Fargo & Company Raises Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $850.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $800.00 to $850.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on COST. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a hold rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $886.52 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $393.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.93, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $540.23 and a 52 week high of $923.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $871.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $818.37. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 16.02 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction 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 $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares during the period. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.