Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Analysts at William Blair lowered their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a note issued to investors on Thursday, June 6th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings per share of $15.74 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $15.95. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $15.96 per share.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis.
COST has been the subject of several other research reports. Argus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $750.00.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %
COST stock traded up $2.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $848.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,401,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,986,751. The company has a market capitalization of $376.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.56, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $516.00 and a 52 week high of $850.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $762.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $716.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale
Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer's stock worth $729,000 after buying an additional 13 shares during the period. Arlington Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the first quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,125,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.
Costco Wholesale Company Profile
(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.
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