Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Lowered to $926.00 at Truist Financial

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective decreased by Truist Financial from $1,033.00 to $926.00 in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat reports. Truist Financial currently has a hold rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on COST. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $998.70.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.0%

NASDAQ COST opened at $884.47 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $867.12 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $392.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.37, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $916.22 and its 200-day moving average is $951.10.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 30.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $35,000. 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.