Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.7% Following Analyst Upgrade

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 0.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $950.00 to $1,000.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as high as $997.96 and last traded at $996.14. Approximately 536,616 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 1,922,924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $989.35.

COST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,050.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $988.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer's stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4 %

The business's 50-day moving average is $929.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $887.00. 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 cap of $439.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 33.19% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 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.