Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $850.94 and last traded at $843.70, with a volume of 138172 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $848.34.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $750.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on COST
Costco Wholesale Price Performance
The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.62, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50 day moving average price is $765.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $717.85.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.
Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale
In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $729,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer's stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,276,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the first quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
About Costco Wholesale
(Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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