Oppenheimer Boosts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $850.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target boosted by Oppenheimer from $805.00 to $850.00 in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on COST. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to an accumulate rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $696.88.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $809.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $359.12 billion, a PE ratio of 52.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $816.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $742.68 and a 200 day moving average of $695.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.