Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given New $950.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price raised by BMO Capital Markets from $875.00 to $950.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $824.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $877.35 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $530.56 and a 52 week high of $896.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $847.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $780.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,628,694,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after buying an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after buying an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.