Bank of America Increases Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $962.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target raised by Bank of America from $874.00 to $962.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson restated a neutral rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Tigress Financial increased their price target 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 increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $799.33.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $842.90 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $373.68 billion, a PE ratio of 52.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $530.56 and a 52-week high of $896.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $829.88 and a 200-day moving average of $754.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sunburst Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 4,464 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,794,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 33,291 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $28,297,000 after buying an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 722 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $289,000. 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.