Costco Wholesale’s (COST) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at DA Davidson

DA Davidson restated their neutral rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $780.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale’s Q4 2024 earnings at $5.10 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $16.92 EPS.

COST has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $676.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $876.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $388.66 billion, a PE ratio of 54.32, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $857.45 and a 200 day moving average of $799.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $918.93.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the first quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 27,902 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,418,000 after purchasing an additional 1,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,871,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.