Costco Wholesale’s (COST) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,100.00 target price on the retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $964.31 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $984.05 and its 200-day moving average is $949.09. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $427.85 billion, a PE ratio of 56.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $702.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,088,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 76.8% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.