Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) shares shot up 0.1% on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $800.00 to $1,060.00. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as high as $974.64 and last traded at $965.88. 406,929 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,928,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $964.74.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $997.75.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $932.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $888.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.07, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 33.19%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 27.25%.

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.