Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $899.49 and last traded at $897.92, with a volume of 122768 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $892.51.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Costco Wholesale from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $925.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $824.50.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.8 %
The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $402.95 billion, a PE ratio of 56.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50 day moving average is $851.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $790.20.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,970 shares of company stock worth $4,249,526 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,628,694,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,253,508,000 after buying an additional 1,473,248 shares during the period. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Costco Wholesale Company Profile
(Get Free Report)
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.
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