Oppenheimer Increases Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $850.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target upped by Oppenheimer from $805.00 to $850.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $696.88.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $809.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $359.12 billion, a PE ratio of 52.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $742.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $696.37. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $816.87.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’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 directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. increased its holdings 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. Arlington Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,276,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.