Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $1,030.43.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $903.92 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $989.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $944.22.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $117,792,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,665,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,770,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,052,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $453,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.