Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given New $975.00 Price Target at Tigress Financial

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price increased by Tigress Financial from $870.00 to $975.00 in a research note released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on COST. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, DA Davidson restated a neutral rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $849.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $524.63 and a twelve month high of $873.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $801.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $739.18. The firm has a market cap of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the first quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 2,717 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% in the first quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,323,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $201,000. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the first quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,406 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,030,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IMS Capital Management boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the first quarter. IMS Capital Management now owns 3,542 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,595,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.