Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Upgraded to Buy at Gordon Haskett

Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) from an accumulate rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has $925.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

COST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $905.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $925.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $821.62.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $15.50 during trading on Thursday, reaching $854.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,709,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,000,016. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $844.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $774.57. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $530.56 and a one year high of $896.67. The firm has a market cap of $379.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’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 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 $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. Corporate 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 bought and sold shares of the business. Tobam raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Tobam now owns 378 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period. Cedrus LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Cedrus LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,178,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,177 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,417,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after buying an additional 61,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 866 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is 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.