Costco Wholesale’s (COST) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group restated their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $1,100.00 price target on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Argus upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,063.88.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $923.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $409.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.72, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $938.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $969.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $871.71 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.15 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.