Citigroup Increases Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $710.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $630.00 to $710.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson restated a neutral rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to an accumulate rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $729.18 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $666.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a PE ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $477,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 113 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,044 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 956 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $540,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,484 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,917,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the period. 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.