Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $980.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $940.00 to $980.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $927.08 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $990.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $944.52. The company has a market cap of $411.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.44, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Swedbank AB raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,285,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 316 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $1,228,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.