Daiwa Capital Markets Cuts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $947.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price decreased by Daiwa Capital Markets from $1,005.00 to $947.00 in a research note published on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. Daiwa Capital Markets currently has a neutral rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Argus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,130.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $916.77 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $953.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $971.03. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $867.34 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.57 billion, a PE ratio of 50.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,981 shares of company stock worth $7,588,685. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 360 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 752 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baxter Bros Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 4,942 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,674,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.