Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price raised by Morgan Stanley from $950.00 to $1,150.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $989.35 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $630.30 and a twelve month high of $1,007.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $926.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $884.70. The company has a market cap of $438.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.71, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 17.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.00%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.3% during the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 530 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.8% in the 2nd quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 522 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.4% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 15,084 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,821,000 after purchasing an additional 3,780 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.9% during the second quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,839 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CAP Partners LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. CAP Partners LLC now owns 515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 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.